Nitsu the Good Imperial
by A.R.H. Writer
Summary: When The Clone Wars Ended, The Galaxy Was In Chaos, With The Galactic Empire Rising To Restore Order To The Cosmos. But A Precious Few Were Left Behind In This New Charter, And Nitsu Yil Is Determined To Bring His Planet Back Into The Fold. Rated M For Occasional Strong Language.
1. Chapter 1: The Declaration

_**~19 BBY, Pantora, Pantoran city of Chulal, Yil Estate~**_

The chrono chimed noon, its electric face of digital numbers seemingly glaring down at the sleeping being still laying in bed beside it's resting place on a wooden nightstand.

The lifeform stirred, before standing and stretching before acknowledging the chrono's chimes.

Leave had clearly had its toll on Nitsu.

He stood and made for the bathroom, the whites of his eyes slightly bloodshot from his late night studying reports of Seperatist activity, not to mention slightly wet and crusty from discharge in the corners. No doubt to a human he would look quite sickly with his yellow pupils in addition to the other blemishes to his looks.

Appraising his appearance, he tisked at the stubble.

'_With this, I can hardly see my crest_' he grumbled internally, fishing for a vibro-razor in a drawer, clicking it on with a hum as he burned the facial hair away. As he did, he noted how glad he was that his leave ended _tomorrow_, rather than today. The facial hair obscured the circular collection of dots making his lower crest, while his two upper family crest-marks stood out with excess clarity due to the dark circles under his eyes.

The two marks at the base of his neck was just visible through his uneven hair, the sloped neck hair beginning to swallow them. Nothing a proper haircut wouldn't fix, but a minor issue.

Of course, he would be lying if he did not enjoy looking a disheveled mess, before completely transforming into the cleanly cut Isik First Class Nitsu Yil of his defense fleet.

Soon to become an assault fleet, if the war continued on like this.

The outer rim sieges were an unmitigated mess, by no fault of the Republic, or even the blundering Jedi, but just by pure circumstance. The Wookies, with their entrance into the war, would aid in blunting the invasions through the major hyperspace lanes that the Wookies now offered to the Republic. No doubt, Nitsu and his Captain would be ordered to one of these battlefields to stop the bleeding.

And he could not wait for the chance.

A chance to prove himself.

The room's comm chime broke him from his revelry, and he left the bathroom to answer it.

"Nitsu speaking?" he said by way of greeting.

[_Mr. Yil, Lord Yil wishes to speak with you at your earliest convenience._] A feminine droid replied from the speaker.

"Tell him I will be there in five minutes." He replied, reigniting the vibro-razor.

[_Very good, sir._] the droid replied before cutting communication.

* * *

Tattoos were not a means of expression or mere self decoration, like with the Twi'leks lekku stripes or the Human flowers and skulls and letters. Every stripe, every dot, has a meaning on Pantora.

The houses of Pantora were all obsessed with history. House Yil of the city of Chulal near the equator of the planet, was no exception. Such history was expressed in possessions, artifacts of the ancestors, but the most common way to tell the history of a member of the Yil family _was_ a member of the Yil family, was their tattoos.

A single central disk dominated the chin, representing a shield for defending their people from danger, and dotted lines under the eye, representing many years of military service. Taken together, they alluded to the family's strong ties to the military of the world, and the near-hereditary role as minister of defense in the Pantoran Assembly, often occupied by the head of the house.

And Lord Yil was certainly _not_ an exception from the rule.

He was waiting with a small crowd at the front of the uniquely designed mansion of the Yil Estate. To say it was built in the Pantoran style of unique spires and towers was a nerf faced lie. The large dome looked more like a giant shield laying on the ground, with a thin wedge cut out of it with just enough room for speeders to enter and for people wander the shadowy front garden of the mansion.

Wearing a specifically tailored uniform with the colors and shoulder-cape of the Pantoran Army, yet with the rank plaque and style of the Republic Navy, he cut a dashing figure with the crew-cut popular with military personnel in the Grand Army of the Republic as he stood beside the golden fountain with his retinue in the center of the wedge shaped impression.

At his jaw, dozens of thin bars with small dots crowning them were upon his jaw like small teeth, showing for all to see his many years of military service.

Nitsu subconsciously scratched at his own jaw, noting his own lack of tattoos there.

It was common for members of the Pantoran Fleet to have this style of tattoo the moment they took their two years of mandatory military service. Often tattooed on as soon as the first year of training was finished and the year of active service on a ship or working customs began.

Nitsu had declined to have one.

After all, mandatory service was not _true_ service, but simply fulfilling a social contract with the state. Checking cargo, stamping documents, frisking travelers, or firing warning shots at spice traders that entered the sector's eastern reaches was not honorable in his eyes.

Serving for three years as a part of the Pantoran Guard of the Assembly however, and earning the three unique strokes on his upper brow and nose, was an extraordinary honor.

He approached his father and bowed slightly, inclining his head with his right forearm across his midsection and his left hand resting on his ceremonial - yet quite functional - heavy blaster pistol.

His father smiled and nodded, acknowledging and bidding him to come close with the simple gesture.

Nitsu noted that his father was not alone. There was his two bodyguards wearing the traditional livery of the organization, who in turn gave a stern nod of recognition and acceptance, both as a fellow Pantoran Guard and as the tenth son of Lord Yil.

Beside him were two other men; the first was his aide in the traditional magenta and light grey of the Assembly, a datapad in hand with stylus at the ready to take notes or make an appointment on command. Beside him stood a smartly dressed servant in the traditional black suit with a gold trim in order to blend into the darkly styled rooms and offices of Pantoran architecture. In his hands he held a silver platter, upon which a small hologram projector stood, projecting a pair of small figures no larger than a child's doll, whom his father was conversing with.

It was the final person in this group that made him pause. Standing at his father's side was his tall and imposingly dressed step brother, Rencoril Yil, heir to the title of Lord in rich regimentals. At his sides - _other_ than his heavy sideburns, hiding his lack of military service - there would normally be a pair of Pantoran Guards, as befitting of royalty. But curiously, there were a pair of what seemed to be _offworlder_ mercenaries, a Rodian and a Weequay, if he was not mistaken.

As he approached, Rencoril seemed to notice him and tried to get his father to shut off the projector, but his father waved him off.

"Renn, it is fine. _I_ called him here." He heard his father say, dismissing his heir.

Rencoril huffed before storming off, the two mercenaries following suit.

"Just you wait, I'll be right in the end! Dark clouds _are_ ahead!" He said over his shoulder.

Lord Yil sighed before beckoning Nitsu over.

The leftmost figure said their farewells and severed communication, but he could have sworn he recognized the voice.

The remaining figure was _very_ familier.

"Your majesty." Nitsu greeted, placing a hand to his chest.

"_At ease, Isek._" the aging man said with a smile, giving a playfully dismissive 'shoo' with his right hand.

The two houses of Yil and Papanoid were old families, and their roots were so close that, as many in both houses said, the families were like two vines always coiled together.

After all, house Yil was one of the largest warrior families, while the Papanoid house was known for its uniquely beautiful and heavy blaster pistols, one of which Nitsu had sitting in his holster.

"We were just discussing the Clone War, Nitsu. The Separatists seem to be in their final death throes, but they outnumber Republic forces greatly, and have multiple factory worlds as of yet unconquered." Lord Yil replied.

"Will the Republic call on system defense fleets to aid in the fighting?" Nitsu asked, hardly containing his excitement.

Chairman Baron Papanoida shook his head.

"_No, they seem to be using special forces to greater effect, making a dozen clones hit harder than entire fleets. I do not think the war will last much longer, especially after the recent failed attack._"

Nitsu frowned.

"I… Don't follow you, sir. What attack?"

The Baron looked to Lork Yil expectantly.

The nobleman sighed, rubbing his shield-crest, before looking Nitsu in the eye.

"The Separatists sent a massive armada to Coruscant, and managed to capture the Supreme Chancellor. The Jedi managed to retrieve him, and much of the fleet was scuttled, including General Grievous, who is now in hiding."

Nitsu was slightly shocked, but bounced back.

"This is good! With this defeat, Count Dooku will be forced to raise more forces to combat his losses, and in turn the Republic will need more -"

"_Not so fast there, son._" Baron Papanoida said patiently.

"_Count Dooku was slain by General Skywalker as he rescued the Chancellor. The snake is functionally headless, and will no doubt be floundering, unable to support one another in the differing sieges. The war will effectively be over even if you were to leave to battle right this instant._"

Nitsu deflated.

The war? Over? Already?

A holographic Pantoran servant approached the Chairman and whispered in his ear, the bearded elder nodding in acknowledgment.

"_Very good, I will be there momentarily._"

He turned back to Nitsu and his father.

"_I look forward to speaking to you again. Chancellor Palpatine just called an emergency meeting of the Senate, and my daughter, Senator Chi Eekway, is unavailable; transport troubles. Another time, gentlemen!_"

Nitsu pressed his fist against his chest again in salute while his father bowed his head slightly. Lord Yil then spoke to his son.

"It will be good, at least, to bring an end to the nonsense of fighting. Order will be restored, and we can finally get to the business of government; trade, infrastructure, and the likes."

He waved off the servant, who bowed and took the holoprojector and the platter away.

Sitting down on the solid gold edge of the great fountain, he chuckled as he looked up to his child.

"Perhaps you will even go into politics, become a minister of construction. That would certainly keep you out of the dangers of your brother." he said, with a surprisingly venomous tone at the end.

Some feud had once again sparked between those two.

And Nitsu, being curious, felt inclined to bite.

"Who were those offworlders he had with him? Those weren't just tourists."

His father, the definition of class and refinement, spat into the fountain.

"Filthy emissaries from the Hutts and the Pikes. Your brother worries that our military buildup on these worlds will go to waste; that we will have built small ships and hired legions of troops for nothing, and that we would be better prepared to use such a military alongside the Hutts once the war is over."

"Pantora, joining the Hutts?" Nitsu said, dumbfounded.

His father sighed.

"His worries are not ill-founded; the trade-routes, even with the Trade Federation blockade lifted, are not what they used to be. The routes that lead here are all old, and with little profit to shipping companies or smugglers. We get a fair amount of energy and raw goods from the Trade Federation, but even then they are dwindling."

His father shook his head before bowing it, showing his slightly balding head through the snow-white hair.

"I worry that he may be right, that we will need to rent our fleet out in defense contracts in the outer rim. Not for the crime lords, but for small worlds. Just enough to gather wealth for Pantora, and to entice more merchants to these areas."

Nitsu snickered.

"Why not just send them to the neighboring sectors and conquer them, use them as refining worlds for more goods and to increase both trade and our influence."

"That sort of talk will only result in you being marked for a declaration of overreach. Don't ask me to do that to my own son."

Lord Yil then sighed.

"Regardless the military will have to be scaled down. The hawks have only held sway for so long because of the war; once it is over, the doves will return to power and they will undoubtedly call for a reduction of the fleet"

Nitsu was silent for a moment, his hand subconsciously strolling his jaw and framing his shield crest with his thumb and forefinger.

Because deep down he knew his father was right. Such a large force would never be tolerated in the system for a moment once the war ended.

"I suppose we could speak to Earl Trezil on allocating funds…"

Lord Yil cut him off.

"He is the biggest dove of them all! He wouldn't have permitted a single credit chip to be spent for a dinner knife if it wasn't for pressure from the Assembly. What would he have to gain for increasing military budget?"

"Perhaps, easy windfall for him?"

He sighed.

"You will have to do better than that when you enter in the Assembly, my son."

The elder Pantoran then stood and put a hand on his son's shoulder.

"I will see you later, Nitsu. I have to have a meeting with my staff in order to process this new arrangement - _without_ the Hutt mercenaries!" He said, calling the last part over his shoulder, causing both of the blue skinned humanoids to laugh.

* * *

That evening, Nitsu dined alone and in total silence, preparing for his return to navy life.

As a Vegter, and certainly as an Isik, he would be expected to, in battle and off of the front lines, to be the perfect example of military precision, excellence, and manners.

In the completely unprofessional opinion of Nitsu, he felt that the training and protocol of the Pantoran Military was even sharper and more harsh than the military Citadel of Anaxus, but of course, that was above his station to enunciate such things.

His meal of cold root soup was interrupted by the loud chime of the dining room comm unit.

As he wiped his mouth clean with his napkin, he strode the few steps behind his chair and activated the receiver.

"Isik Yil speaking?"

[_Mr. Yil, we have an urgent transmission for you from Lord Yil's office in the capital!_] the droid secretary said in a frantic tone.

Nitsu's eyes widened in shock.

"Patch him through here immediately!" He said, activating the hologram projector as an image of his father materialized in front of him.

"Father, what's wrong?" Nitsu asked urgently, stooping slightly so he could lean on the low table.

"_Grave news, I'm afraid. The Assembly hall was attacked by droids; they somehow managed to get on the world. Many of our allies were killed, there is a man-hunt going on as they look for the droids. Be on the lookout; the remaining four may try to escape in any way they can, even by going to a neighboring city._"

"They would have a tough time of it, the closest city to the capital from the Assembly hall is…"

Nitsu's eyes widened.

They could be heading to Chulal.

Now he understood his father's message.

"I'll get the guard out here to search the perimeter. Nothing is getting -"

With a bang and a shattering noise, he heard the explosive detonate down the hall.

"_What was that?_"

"Isik Nitsu going dark." Was his only reply, as he drew his pistol and stooped to a crouch, peering around the corner.

It was as he feared.

The muffled thud of their expensive motors showed their identity before he even looked round the corner.

The four remaining commando droids had breached the estate.

[_Captain, we will need to find a shuttle to escape the planet._]

[_We won't be able to get past the fleet without the shuttles correct codes. We need someone who would know the codes._]

Nitsu saw the white marked captain peer down the hallway to the closed door opposite of the dining room.

[_Search those rooms. You, with me._]

Nitsu ducked back out of view. The only other way they would go, is either back out the window to make another breach, or more likely to search the dining room for anyone with valuable information.

He gripped the Papanoid pistol with both hands, measuring his actions.

Nitsu had read the dossier on those things. Heavily armored, and intelligent enough to compete with Clones. And damn agile, he believed was the word choice.

He switched to his dominant hand and took a deep breath.

There was no way that Nitsu, no matter all the bravery and fire he tried to emulate, could take on two advanced droids like this.

He pressed the emergency button on the receiver as soon as the first droid crossed the threshold into the dining room, firing a single shot through the head and terminating it.

Thinking fast, he keyed open the door, where he was greeted with the confused Captain trying to compute what was happening, before Nitsu pistol whipped it with his weapon, firing three powerful shots into its chest before it fell.

But now, the element of surprise was lost. The heavy retorts of the remaining droid's E-5 rifles rang through the hallway as they fired a volley towards the young Pantoran as he scrambled for cover.

Leaning over the door frame, he extended his right arm so it was sticking out enough to fire, while the only thing at risk was his arm, hand, and his face if he was stupid.

The constant heavy fire managed to breach the chest plate of one before the other quickly stormed up to the alien and delivered a harsh punch to the gut after knocking the blaster aside, shrugging off a ricocheted blaster bolt.

Nitsu coughed in pain as spittle flew from his mouth at the impact, moving to get his blaster between him and the droid.

The commando was not interested in blasters at this point. It seemed dead set on clamping its metal claws around the alien's neck and just strangling him at this point.

Nitsu pressed the barrel of his pistol against the chest of the droid and fired.

The close quarters shot tore through the machines torso, and it staggered back before he could fire a final round into the droids cranium.

And, just in time, security arrived.

"Alert Lord Yil that the four remaining Commando Droids have been destroyed."

"Yes, Isik - Sir! You are bleeding!" One of the guards said, motioning for the medic to step forward while pointing.

Nitsu looked to where the Pantoran Guardsmen was pointing to, and noticed that the Captain had not gone down without a fight. It seemed to have swung its vibroblade in a wild ark, slicing the uniform and causing the front of his tunic to become soaked in blood.

The adrenaline fading, the pain truly began to bite, as he looked down and swore he saw his own collarbone.

"Sir, sir! Stay with us sir, we will get you to the med bay! Someone, get another medic down here!"

Then, all Nitsu saw was black.

* * *

"Good morning, Isik."

Nitsu awoke to find himself in one of the richly decorated guest rooms. He barely had enough time to analyze his new surroundings before one of the servants half blinded him by opening the windows and letting the bright morning sun inside.

"Lord Yil has informed me that you are on immediate leave, sir. You should be mostly healed from your encounter with the droids, but he requests that you remain on the premises and that you do not do anything rash, sir."

Nitsu stifled a laugh.

No doubt his father felt that getting one's hands dirty in a fight meant 'being rash'. Bah humbug.

"How long was I out?" He asked the servant casually.

"You were admitted into the infirmary around eight standard time, sir. The healing process went well, and the doctors simply gave you a sedative to ensure you rest and recover. Your wound should be healed, Isik." the aid replied, bowing slightly at the bedside.

"Is there something I can get you, sir?"

"A hologram projector and access to the Holonet."

He then went a very light shade of blue - the closest thing Pantorans had to 'going pale', to compare to humans - and began to stutter.

"I… I'm afraid that will be difficult sir. Perhaps you should, lay back?" The servant offered.

Nitsu frowned.

"What, did the Republic lose a key sector?"

"No sir, its… well, you had better watch the declaration yourself, sir. All the major news outlets covered it, I will get a holoprojector."

He followed the Pantoran servant with his eyes as he left, wondering what all that was about.

What could be so upsetting about a declaration?

Did another planet declare independence? Or worse, did the Republic declare bankruptcy? Surely not. The office of the Chancellor had only just been granted control of the banks; it was virtually impossible for it to go bankrupt.

Then what else was it?

The servant returned with a small tray and stand, with the holoprojector resting on top of it. Setting it down so it rested above my lap like a table-top writing desk, he keyed it on.

A blonde human woman with a headset appeared, speaking directly into the holocam.

"_We are live, here at the Republic HoloNet News, where Supreme Chancellor Palpatine has just called an emergency meeting of the Senate. We do not know what is to be discussed, but let's tune in, the Vice Chancellor has just called for order._"

The echoes of the large Vice Chancellor Mass Ameda still echoed off the walls when the holocam droids focused on the Chancellor's podium.

Chancellor Palpatine was a changed man. Scarred, deformed, as if the god of time had decided to grind it's great Kris across his poor face.

And with a wretched voice, he spoke.

"_Citizens of the civilized galaxy, on this day we mark a transition. For a thousand years, the Republic stood as the crowning achievement of civilized beings. But there were those who would set us against one another, and we took up arms to defend our way of life against the Separatists. In so doing, we never suspected that the greatest threat came from within._"

Nitsu raised an eyebrow.

A threat from within?

The hologram continued.

"_The Jedi, and some within our own Senate, had conspired to create the shadow of Separatism using one of their own as the enemy's leader. They had hoped to grind the Republic into ruin. But the hatred in their hearts could not be hidden forever. At last, there came a day when our enemies showed their true natures._"

His eyes widened in disbelief.

Nitsu was not a fan of the Jedi; once upon a time in Pantoras distant past, they had tried to outlaw the Pantoran faith on the grounds that it was tied to a rebellious sect in their religion. But, to have the Jedi betray the very thing they were charged with defending was a crime far too egregious to forgive.

"_The Jedi hoped to unleash their destructive power against the Republic by assassinating the head of government and usurping control of the Clone army. But the aims of would-be tyrants were valiantly opposed by those without elitist, dangerous powers. Our loyal Clone troopers contained the insurrection within the Jedi Temple and quelled uprisings on a thousand worlds._"

At that, Nitsu sighed in relief. At least this had been dealt with cleanly and quickly. If only they had glassed Geonosis so long ago, they would have finished the Seperatist rebellion in a matter of weeks. With this, the Clones had cleaned up the Jedi traitors in mere hours!

"_The remaining Jedi will be hunted down and defeated! Any collaborators will suffer the same fate. These have been trying times, but we have passed the test. The attempt on my life has left me scarred and deformed, but I assure you my resolve has never been stronger. The war is over. The Separatists have been defeated, and the Jedi rebellion has been foiled. We stand on the threshold of a new beginning. In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society, which I assure you will last for ten thousand years. An Empire that will continue to be ruled by this august body and a sovereign ruler chosen for life. An Empire ruled by the majority, ruled by a new constitution!_"

The cameras picked up a roar of applause, and Nitsu felt half compelled to join them, despite the fact this was a recording.

This was a government almost perfectly _based_ on the Pantoran system. A balance of elite nobles - or in this case, just one noble - with democracy handling the humdrum day to day business. But the military…

"_By bringing the entire galaxy under one law, one language, and the enlightened guidance of one individual, the corruption that plagued the Republic in its later years will never take root. Regional governors will eliminate the bureaucracy that allowed the Separatist movement to grow unchecked. A strong and growing military will ensure the rule of law._"

Nitsu could not help but smile.

A strong, and growing military. A strong, and _growing_ military. As in, it _will_ get bigger. There would no doubt be a chance for him to aid the Repub- _Empire_, if he - or his captain's ship - were added to this military.

"_Under the Empire's New Order, our most cherished beliefs will be safeguarded. We will defend our ideals by force of arms. We will give no ground to our enemies and will stand together against attacks from within or without. Let the enemies of the Empire take heed: those who challenge Imperial resolve will be crushed. We have taken on a task that will be difficult, but the people of the Empire are ready for the challenge. Because of our efforts, the galaxy has traded war for peace and anarchy for stability. Billions of beings now look forward to a secure future. The Empire will grow as more planets feel the call, from the Rim to the wilds of unknown space._"

And here, Nitsu saw a perfect argument against whatever opposition might occur. Values will be preserved and order will be maintained. Better order and your traditions intact than war and traditions forced to bend.

"_Imperial citizens must do their part. Join our grand star fleet. Become the eyes of the Empire by reporting suspected insurrectionists. Travel to the corners of the galaxy to spread the principles of the New Order to barbarians. Build monuments and technical wonders that will speak of our glory for generations to come. The Clone Troopers, now proudly wearing the name of Imperial Storm Troopers, have tackled the dangerous work of fighting our enemies on the front lines. Many have died in their devotion to the Empire. Imperial citizens would do well to remember their example. The New Order of peace has triumphed over the shadowy secrecy of shameful magicians. The direction of our course is clear. I will lead the Empire to glories beyond imagining. We have been tested, but we have emerged stronger. We move forward as one people: the Imperial citizens of the first Galactic Empire. We will prevail. Ten thousand years of peace begins today._"

There.

Right there.

As good as an invitation to join.

But, as much as he yearned to travel the stars, fighting grand battles against whatever dregs of the Separatists were left that refused to surrender, he had a duty. A duty to his homeworld and to his family name.

The news segment then switched over on analyzing the speech, and what it meant for the citizens of Coruscant, but he turned off the projector. He had seen enough.

The servant stood stoically by, but he could tell that something was wrong.

"Are you alright?"

"Certainly, sir. I must mention, I took a message on your behalf from Lord Yil. If you are up to it, he would like to see you in his office at the earliest convenience.

* * *

Nitsu sported a fresh Pantoran Navy uniform as he rode the elevator to his father's government office in the Pantoran capital of Stad in the early afternoon. The doors fluttered open, and he saw the normally deafeningly silent waiting room to Lord Yil's office with a small number of military personnel, not to mention the captain of his own sister ship, the PDS _Colonizer_.

He approached the secretary droid, when it addressed him

[_Go right on in, Lord Yil is waiting for you, Isik Yil._] it chirped kindly.

The room was full of high ranking military personnel. The Lord Colonel of the Pantoran Guard, the General of the armed garrisons, and Admiral of the Pantoran Armada were all in the room, either pacing, sitting, or leaning against the wall. Other minor functionaries whom Nitsu knew to be hawks that survived the Assembly attack were quietly muttering and discussing things at the edge of the office, including the life sized holographic image of Chairman Papanoida speaking to his father.

"Nitsu! Get in here, we have a lot to discuss." Lord Yil replied in a bitter tone.

The moment the door closed, Baron Papanoida spoke.

"I presume you saw Ch-_Emperor_, Palpatine's declaration of the New Order?"

"Yes, your majesty. It sounds like much of it would benefit Pantora, and silence the doves."

There was silence around the room, with the Admiral looking down his nose to the young Pantoran.

"I am afraid there is… more to it than that. After his speech, he updated all planets to three rankings; a member of the Empire, a protectorate of the Empire, and those systems expelled from the Empire." The colonel replied gently.

"Pantora, is on that last list." Lord Yil said gravely.

Nitsu started.

"But, they can't! The Galactic Constitution clearly states -"

"_The Galactic Constitution was almost entirely repealed last night. Any member of the Imperial High Command can decide on his or her own volition that a planet is either in revolt or too much of a depression of resources to be of any worth. In this case, the order came directly from the Office of the Emperor, as my daughter Senator Chi Eekway foolishly added her name to a political delegation who wished to see Palpatine return his powers to the Senate before the Clone War was over. We can't repeal it, and am sure that because of her rash actions we won't be able to have it repealed in some time. I am still worth something in high society however, I will see if I can rally together with my old friends to petition the Emperor on Pantora's behalf._" The Chairman replied stiffly, clearly angered by his daughter's idealist streak dragging Pantora into crisis.

The general bowed.

"I wish you the best of luck, your majesty. We will see if we can contain the doves, the droid attack truly slaughtered much of our chances for military funding. Not to mention…"

He lowered his head, as did the other three officers.

"May Speaker Oukiau walk freely in the Summerland." Lord Yil said, resting his hand over his heart.

The other military men and Nitsu followed suit.

"But, we don't have time to grieve. The doves pitched the droid attack as a failure of the military, and are using it as grounds to scale back growth, even requesting that the PDS _Sarlacc_ be converted into a mobile museum! Not to mention that with the Speaker dead, the doves have called an emergency vote for his replacement."

"Do we have a candidate, Sir?" Nitsu asked.

"Sadly, Isik, we do not. The best bet for Speaker would be Lord Yil's eldest, and…"

He shifted uncomfortably.

"That option is not on the table." Lord Yil said with a small edge of finality to it.

"_Why not give this young man a chance at the position?_" The Chairman offered, gesturing to Nitsu.

And ten yellow eyes then turned to me.

"M-me? Sir, father! I have no experience in the arena of politics -"

"Of course not, Isik, we can help you with the job, we just need to make sure you get your foot in the door." The general said, resting an arm around his shoulders as the Colonel stepped closer.

"Picture it: A strong, young, charismatic young military man who _singlehandedly_ killed the four droids that eluded our forces! What a campaign! You will certainly beat whatever plump Noble they offer to the position - No offense, my Lord, your Majesty - and once we get back into the Repub- _Empire_, things will be right as rain again."

A small chime broke the spell they were trying to weave.

[_Colonel? Guardsmen Shon is here to see you._] the chirping voice of the secretary droid said over the receiver.

"Well son, what do you say?" Lord Yil asked as the Colonel left the room.

Nitsu's father sat, beaming across the desk. His Chairman looked expectantly, one hand resting on his waistcoat.

"I…"

The door opened again and the Colonel rushed in.

"Terrible news. The doves have announced their nomination for the Speaker's seat."

Lord Yil laughed.

"Who, Riyo Chuchi?"

"Exactly."

The room went quiet.

Chuchi was a former Senator of Pantora - Dismissed for her voting with the madman Rush Clovis in the banking disaster - and was by now a veteran politician. She hardly older than Nitsu, but her political career already was longer than even the Chairman's list of achievements. If she had thrown in with the doves, and accepted their nomination…

Already she was a rallying point for many Pantorans in the capital. Members of both factions could not help but compliment her style and her quick wit when it comes to disarming illegal actions on the Republic Senate Broadcast.

"_I offer… a strange solution._" The Chairman said into the silence.

"_We back her as well, go forward united. This could work out well for us in the future._"

"A quid pro quo." the General offered.

"_Exactly. Support her now, and she may give us the aid we need for our military budget._"

"But the point remains; without the Empire, our navy will be nearly half gone. Just to finance it without trade we would need to raid the Svivreni sector to galactic west of our sector or chance an exploration into wild space. We could certainly make credits attacking the spice traders _and_ trading the legal product to The Trade Federation -"

"No go for that I'm afraid." The Colonel said, interrupting the General.

"The Trade Federation was nationalized just after the Declaration went live. All major trade is now officially within the Empire. No chance of trading unless we are a _member_ of the Empire."

Nitsu stepped away from the conversation, stroking his chin and trying to think.

It was clear that there was one large, glaring issue: Pantora was not in the Empire, and that caused a near endless font of issues with the Hawks. But how to get Pantora back _in_? Trade was off the table; The Trade Federation had just been nationalized, and all of the other large corporations - after the Clones took whatever Seperatist element was left - would no doubt be forcefully encouraged to join. That left only one option for trade: To go back to the old roots and delve into spice trading, the very people the Yil family made their name fighting to get them off world.

No. Never, under any Lord Yil would the spice traders return.

They needed to convince the Empire that trade - and by association, allowing Pantora to return to the fold - was worth the cost. But what would the planet have that would be of use to the Empire? The planet did not have very good land for any temperate crops; the tropical zone was generally cold enough to only cause frost to linger around noon instead of all day, but it was by no means a way to grow any large scale crops that would be valuable as a foodstuff.

Then, he had an idea.

"Father, you mentioned to me an idea for using the military to pay for itself. I have an idea along that vein of thinking."

The Admiral turned to Lord Yil.

"Why was I not notified of this possibility?"

"It was still in the planning phase Admiral, don't get your tunic in a bunch. Go ahead, Nitsu." his father said in a tired tone.

"You suggested we offer the military as guns for hire to outer-rim worlds. What if we did the same for the Empire."

"Offer ourselves as mercenaries?" The Colonel of the Pantoran Guard said dryly.

"Not quite. We send some of our best men to join their ranks. They have started open recruitment, and have announced new academies to be finished by the end of the standard week. If we got a platoons worth of troops to each new academy, and continued training our forces _while_ sending them to join the Empire, we will begin to be noticed, and questions will be asked as to why one of the species making up the recruits is not in the Empire."

"_Assuming the soldiers agree, and are willing to transfer their oath to Pantora's two year service to whatever amount of time this new Order is requesting, and they overcome the speciesism that is rampant in the High Command, what then? They just, graduate, and get swallowed into the sea of this new army?_" the Chairman asked.

"Yes, your majesty. I feel this would be the perfect way to send out best and brightest to represent us to the wider galaxy. We cannot afford to be forgotten as just a strange people at the edge of the rim." Nitsu said in the way of a finisher.

The hawks looked at one another.

"_Sounds fine to me._" the Chairman replied, with most of the others - excluding the Admiral - agreeing.

"And I think I know the perfect young Pantoran to be put in charge of organizing this operation." Lord Yil said with a knowing smile to his son, who died inside.

A politicians life for him.

* * *

By the three faced moon goddess.

Even with the information regarding the best troops of both the Army, Navy, and Pantoran Guard Red Berets, finding a platoons worth of the best of each category was a nightmare.

His efforts stymied by the fact that the Empire cut HoloNet access the night before, so he only had the last deposited list of new Imperial troops.

And even after _all_ that, he had an officer slot open, with no spare Isik or…

He looked back at his own requirements. Isik or below.

Nitsu looked sidelong at his father, tiredly working at his desk and almost nodding off.

He added the last name, added his signature, and stood to place the datapad in front of his father.

"I have that list of names you wanted. All it needs now is your signature and we can head home."

"Thank the Horned One…" He grumbled sleepily, lazily signing his name at the bottom and locking the datapad.

"I think you will have to drive, Nitsu. I am too tired to open the door."

Nitsu smiled, opening the door for his father and letting him pass through.

It was the least he could do.

* * *

"Speaker, if you just gave it the benefit of the doubt -"

"Certainly not" Speaker Chuchi said indignantly.

Wearing the long, dragging robes of the Speaker of the Assembly certainly gave the new speaker an imposing figure that would certainly intimidate most would-be petitioners.

And Nitsu was struggling to find a way to get through her stern resolve.

"If we go through with this plan, we will be able to increase trade and prosperity for our people. Independent trade systems have vanished, there are only Imperial trade companies now. With this idea, we would be bringing their eye to us, and with that attention, their merchants -"

"Or we could entice their navy, for seemingly infiltrating their ranks with such numbers. Besides, re-purposing the bulk of our defense fleet as merchant vessels would be an ideal action that I plan to suggest to the Assembly tomorrow."

Nitsu chewed the inside of his cheek, trying to level a response as she turned to walk away.

"To re-purpose the fleet, you would have to disband many of their crews!" He called, rushing to stand beside her.

"And if the crews were disbanded in such a manor, the soldiers might struggle to make a living for themselves."

Chuchi rolled her eyes.

"Republi-"

She stopped herself, going pensive.

"You do have a point there, the laws on veterans affairs are no longer used on Pantora as we were expelled."

"And if a willing number of those troops, a drain on our economy, went to serve the Empire?"

Nitsu could tell he had gotten through, that look of calculations and just a serious amount of buzzing behind her eyes; she had swallowed the idea.

"I will suggest this idea alongside my own at the Assembly, and put them both to separate votes." She said neutrally.

"Thank you Madam Speaker." Nitsu replied, bowing.

She did not reply, only giving a minor nod before turning on her way.

It didn't matter if she liked the idea in whole or not; she had enough of an interest to suggest it to the Assembly.

And Nitsu would _finally_ be through with playing diplomat if the proposal went through.

* * *

That very evening, he received the alert on his datapad.

New orders; to report to the PDS _Velocity_, en-route to Vardos.

Nitsu tried to suppress his grin, he really, really tried. But that small smile eventually grew into a full fledged toothy grin.

He had done it. He was now in the thick of it, while serving his people all at once.

Stowing the datapad, he collected his travel pack and prepared for the most difficult part of the journey.

The easy part had been deceiving his father. The hard part was informing his father what had happened.

"I was disappointed when I received word that you were on the list that I signed, Nitsu." He said with a sigh behind his desk in the estate's study.

"But at once, I am proud of your initiative. You used stealth and ingenuity to get me to sign your confirmation, and managed to track down and convince the champion of the opposition to pass our bill on your own. Not only have you helped yourself, but you have helped many of the other military families as well."

Lord Yil stood with a smile, walking around his desk to rest his hands on his shoulder.

"I am proud of you, my son. I wish you the best of luck; go make a name for the people of Pantora."

"I will, father."


	2. Chapter 2: Hounded

Aight here's the second bit of his backstory, enjoy!

* * *

_**~16 BBY, Vardos System, Vardos School for Future Imperial Artists~**_

Three. Long. Years.

Nitsu had underestimated the warnings, that speciesism has leaked into the Empire of predominantly aliens.

He was wrong.

It was a grueling task, and a disheartening one, being forced to show identification and clearance every time he passed an imperial trooper, every time he entered class for those few weeks.

Many of the other top officers could not handle the stress, or the strain of the academy. From what he heard, most had asked, and were granted permission to transfer to the storm trooper academy on Carida.

But for some reason, unknown to even Nitsu, he had persevered.

Maybe it was a fear of failure. Perhaps it was simple spite to out do those that had bullied and harassed him.

But he did it.

After three grueling, horrid years, he graduated. Not with honors, but near the top of his class in seventh.

And what was his reward for surviving so long in the hostile culture of future officers?

To be relegated not to a ship, but to ground based duty.

On its own, that would not be an issue at all.

But to lead a squad of _Patrol troopers_, in charge with policing an Imperial art school?

He sighed, rubbing his eyes as he stretched back in his desk.

The desk work was not hard; nor was gathering the statements or being paid to analyze the art. But his superiors expected him to find secret messages, deep evils hidden in the artwork. Old relics of the Jedi, pro-Seperatist messages, that sort of thing.

None of the students ever really had that sort of issue.

It was the teachers who were the troublemakers in that regard.

Sure, the students would get into trouble; vandalizing the walls, smoking spice on the roof, normal delinquent things.

But the teachers would actively depict Jedi sculptures, or images of Jedi triumphing in battle as examples for their classes.

And that was where the issue was. Especially when it was a highly respected professor, like this one.

Dean of the class on archaic tapestries, she had drawn a template showing the Republic Roundel instead of the Imperial Crest; an act deemed illegal with a new set of Imperial laws.

It would have been a simple matter of adding the extra motifs to make the Republic symbol into the Imperial one. But, she in her infinite wisdom, drew instead the Seperatist Hex Icon.

And that had been mere hours before one of his men did a routine search of the building's works.

She had been fired and arrested, as was the law, but still it left a bad taste in his mouth.

For all Nitsu knew, she was planning to cross out the symbols and put the Imperial symbol over them. But, he had to admit her record of anti-war protests did not help her case one bit.

His chrono chimed, alerting him it was time for his patrol. He slipped on his helmet with a grumble. Graduating from the Imperial Academy, and dropped in a position so low he never even got to wear an Imperial tunic, just Patrol trooper armor.

Nitsu keyed in the access code on the side of the helmet, and the HUD as well as other Patrol Trooper information flooded in. Details such as traffic and other such things were useful to prevent awkward moments of shooing away a hover car waiting for traffic to continue.

The building itself was a strange construct. Shaped like a bracket, his office was located in the rightmost arm of the building, with the student dorms located in the leftmost dorm.

While he would normally patrol that area, to scare off spice deals and potential vandals - or potentially outright mugging - he had been informed that one of the sculpting professors had a large quantity of precious metals; gold, copper, silver, tin, and others.

He had told him that they were for shaping template statues, but a thief might be tempted to steal them to sell on the black market.

It was true that such conductive metals would be valuable on some small scale black market, he had no doubt that small scale tinkers and modifiers in the Circuit Club on campus would love to get their hands on such materials.

As he turned the corner to patrol the rightmost edge of the building where the sculpting studio was located, he thought he heard something in his accented hearing.

Servo motors.

Moving quickly yet quietly, he peered around the next corner.

Laid before him was a large, flat expanse next to the schools sport field. And there, lit only by the shallow moonlight, were thieves. A human, two rodians, and…

That explained why he recognized that noise.

A heavily modified Commando droid, painted pure black to blend into the darkness.

The small flash of the explosive shattered the glass and caused his helmet to instantly shield his eyes before refreshing his vision.

"This way, the metals should be in here - oh ho! This will be enough to get that old ship you saw up and running!"

[_And begin our fight against the Empire in earnest._]

Nitsu had seen enough.

Drawing the small hold out pistol he carried for defense, he stepped forward and took careful aim.

Firing quickly, he downed the Droid with two shots to the head, before firing through the backpack of one of the Rodians, killing her with an alien scream.

The other let out angry calls in its native language that Nitsu could not understand, drawing a pistol and firing blindly into the dark.

Three shots to the chest and he was down.

All that was left was the human; and he could not pick him up on his helmet sensors.

The last thing he saw through the helmet HUD was the old fashioned droid popper, before his helmet vision turned to static.

Nitsu ripped off his helmet and threw it where it had come, his yellow eyes scanning the shadows.

A good move; in this darkness, a human wouldn't have been able to recover.

But as a Pantoran, he could see in the dark.

And he could see the human standing plainly between two large drums of precious metals.

Quickly setting his weapon to stun, he managed to fire twice as the last thief lunged, sending the intruder down to the ground unconscious.

Pulling out his set of binders and cuffing the would-be-thief, he pressed his wrist comm to summon backup to escort him back to base.

Nothing. Not even the telltale chime of the comm activating, or the light switching on.

Droid popper, right.

Stepping out of the room and switching his weapon to kill, he pointed up and fired repeatedly, knowing that the consistent sound of blaster fire would draw out his comrades.

The four other Patrol Troopers on duty that evening rushed rushed to see what was the issue, and not only took the cuffed human back to base for interrogation, but aided him in dragging out the bodies for identification and to clear the way for the maintenance droids.

But the night was not over yet for Nitsu. Not by a long shot.

* * *

"Explain!" Lieutenant Shadar shouted down to Nitsu, pointing to the morning headline of the Vardos HoloNet News that was holographically displayed before the pair in his office.

'_Imperial academy attacked, terrorists defeated by heroic law enforcement officer_.'

"I was patrolling an area I had been warned was carrying some high grade materiel, and encountered a group of would be thieves -"

"Which by protocol you would have captured. Alive. The droid was a necessary loss, but why the two Rodians?"

Nitsu straightened in his chair and looked up the Lieutenant looming over him.

"They mentioned increasing their attacks against the Empire, sir. It seemed to be the beginning of a terrorist cell, Sir."

"Something which the new Imperial Security Bureau would have _loved_ to investigate. So you saw fit to kill the two potential insurgents, and kept alive the human? Why?"

"The Rodians did not seem to speak basic, and I felt that keeping someone who did speak it would be more valuable -"

"You know what, it doesn't matter. Just turn in your helmet's video feed, that should give us the relevant information."

Nitsu nodded, pressing the activation key for the helmet.

It didn't do anything.

"The human threw an old droid-popper, it short circuited my gear, Sir."

"That does fit the video feed of PT thirty three oh one. But that does not validate your story, PT twelve eleven, as you have no feed to prove that they were terrorists." He stood straight, breathing hard through his nose

"And how in _blazes_ did the press get a hold of it before I did? I only just heard of this reading the morning news!" He shouted, spittle flying in Nitsu's face.

"I don't know, sir! This is the first I've heard of it. I continued patrolling the perimeter and was about to clock out when you summoned me here, Sir."

"Regardless, something funny is going on. And I don't want to have our Patrol Troopers numbers muddled because of some trigger happy _alien_. I am arranging you to be transferred, go clear out your office on the Campus. Dismissed, PT twelve eleven.

* * *

"Transferred?" PT thirteen eighty two said in shock.

"Over killing some terrorists?" PT forty seven eighty one added in equal disbelief.

Most of the four on-duty squad members were in Nitsu's office, wondering what the lieutenant had wanted.

"He is mostly mad that the press got a hold of rumors and managed to publish the story before he even got wind of it."

"Karabast!" PT thirty three oh one shouted, his hands gripping his hair.

"I gave them the story! I thought it high time that you got some good moments in the sunlight!"

"It's alright, thirty three oh one. I'll be fine. I just need to know where I'm being transferred."

"If Shadar is that mad, you might end up on riot duty on Raxus Secunda."

"Stow it forty seven eighty one, he's got connections but not _those_ kinds of connections. You might end up doing highway patrol on Corellia or one of the factory worlds, like Geonosis."

"Regardless, I need to get the last few things out of here to prepare for your new sergeant. Hopefully I'll see you around, gentlemen.

The four men saluted in near unison, putting on their helmets and leaving the room.

By the Oak God, he would miss them.

There wasn't much left to pack, and once he had done so he reported to Lieutenant Shadar.

"_PT twelve eleven, here for re-assignment orders, sir_." He said, the vocalizer of his new helmet giving him a refreshing sense of anonymity.

"Yes, yes, let's skip the niceties. You are being transferred to a ship of the line, the Imperial Star Destroyer Zephyr."

Nitsu's heart soared.

A sergeant? On the ship of the line? Granted they had little use for a Patrol Trooper there, but maybe his Officer training was finally going to pay off…

"As such you will be stripped of rank down to a private. Your transport just landed and is waiting for you down by the landing pad. Better get going."

So Nitsu hurried off, not bothering to take off his Patrol Trooper armor. It would find its way back to Vardos.

But he could not fight the sinking feeling in his stomach.

Back to the bottom. Again.


	3. Chapter 3: The Snow Sergeant

_Me again, here with the first _actual _chapter on the ISD Zephyr, and a more dramatic version of how I went from lowly recruit to stormtrooper. Enjoy!  
__And on a side note, if you see any issues with punctuation or *asterics* don't worry, those are leftover from the weird document format this thing has. It will be fixed by the end of the week, so if it bugs you, it bugs me and I make it Thanos Snapped.  
_Enjoy! -_Arh_

* * *

**_~Sentinel-class troop transport Druadil, 16 BBY, Vardos System~_**

Nitsu stuck out like a sore thumb among the other troops that were returning from planet-side leave on the Imperial haven of Vardos. One even asked if he had gotten on the wrong transport, but no, Nitsu assured him that he had transfer orders to head to the ISD Zephyr.

It wasn't because he was an alien, thankfully, but because of his Patrol Trooper armor and helmet, making it look he was a law enforcement officer on the wrong transport to his hotel.

It was these final moments of leave many Stormtroopers took off their helmets and began conversing with family and loved ones for a time, final sweet nothings to sweethearts and comforting words to family members. Most of the grey or black clad Imperial Officers did not, but a few did record a small message and send it onwards.

Feeling a minor sense of peer pressure, and a wish to speak to his family again, he reached for his small holoprojector disk and keyed it on, hoping the notification would go through.

Surprisingly enough, it did.

"_Hello who is this?_"

He lifted his helmet enough to give a small smile and lock eyes with his father's image.

"_Nitsu! My boy, it's good to see you again, how are you?_" His father said with a kind chortle.

"I am well father, I am en-route to one of the Imperial Navy ships, where I am to be assigned for a time."

"_We managed to travel far enough up the Lanic Spice Run to connect to the holonet and watch your ceremony. Even Ren managed to look proud. So what have you been up to? I would imagine you got a job on the planet?_"

"Yes, working as a Sergeant policing one of the art schools."

His father was silent for a heartbeat, the distance no doubt interfering with the speed of the message.

"_That is good! And I presume you were noted for you actions and are being transferred?_"

"Something like that. But tell me, how is home? How are you all getting on?"

His father laughed before walking slightly until a chair was in frame.

"_Well, I managed to convince Earl Trezil and Baron Bolik to contribute funds alongside his majesty and myself to establish our own connection to the HoloNet, hence why I am speaking to you from my study._" He said, gesturing around to surroundings Nitsu could not see.

"_But otherwise, things have been going as well as they could in this state._"

"How is the Assembly?"

Lord Yil laughed.

"_After our expulsion truly sank in, we have since reorganized into new parties_." He raised his left hand.

"_The Appeasement Party is led by his majesty and currently seeks to reach out and establish both formal diplomatic ties and trade with the Empire. We have set up early warning systems to alert us if the Imperials enter the neighboring sectors, so that we may quickly make contact with them_."

He then raised his right hand as he lowered his left.

"_Then there is the Republican Party, led by Chuchi and the Chairman's own daughter Che. They want to remain isolated from the Empire at all costs, and be fully and truly independent._"

"How can they say such things! We _need_ the Empire's goods! It's a miracle the people aren't starving!"

"_Riyo has managed to open up negotiations with the Talz council of Orto Plutonia, and received their blessing to establish climate controlled sectors for agriculture near and within the site of the old Republic and Seperatist bases. And the Talz have offered food in exchange for metals in order to advance their tools, which was easily accepted._"

"_But for the most part, she seems dead set on establishing colonies throughout the system and the sector, with rumors going around that she intends to establish colonies in the Karazaak system_."

Nistu shook his head with a scowl under his helmet.

"Everyone knows Karazaak Prime is the largest slave empire this side of the galaxy. She would be walking on glass if she isn't careful."

"_Precisely. Which is why I plan to suggest an increase in military funds to wipe them out._"

Nitsu sat up straighter, looking at his father directly in the eye.

"Father, messing with Karazaak is a dangerous move. You had better know what you are doing."

"_Of course I do, son. After all, I did have to make a…_ compromise_ to get the extra muscle that I needed, but within the month Karazaak will no longer be a powerful planet in the sector_."

He eyes his father suspiciously.

"What do you mean you needed to compromise? What did you do?"

"_Nothing too serious, your step brother Bergity was commanding one of our ships, and chased a ship of what looked like pirates to the Alzok system. When boarded, we discovered enslaved Talz onboard, but they did not speak the same dialect that the Talz of Orto Plutonia did. They were Alzok-Talz_."

"So? What does their planetality and your fifth son have to do with anything?"

"_It means returning them gave us inroads into the Alzok-Talz high Council, long before any in the Republican Party even know they exist. And the surface scans we did managed to gather showed intensive mineral deposits just below the surface, meaning that a meaningful relation could give us a strong source of valuable metals like Dooniam, bringing us back into trade with the Empire_."

Nitsu was pensive a moment.

"I understand how that would be beneficial, but how would this be beneficial _to attack Karazaak_?"

Lord Yil shifted slightly.

"_The act of…_ attacking,_ these slavers, apparently was seen as an act of good fortune by local smugglers, who flocked to Rencoril and have founded another political party; the Expansionist Party. They feel that returning to the ancient trade routes of spice and slaves by uprooting the local lead in the industry would provide untold wealth for Pantora, at the cost of making us a den for evil._" Lord Yil sniffed angrily, and Nitsu could not say he blamed him for it.

"_But, they have pledged support in any organized combat. I am loathe to ever put trust in these scoundrels, but fair weather friends are not necessarily a bad thing in the right circumstances._"

"I hope they are not in serious control over the Assembly, father?"

"_The assembly is mostly Republican members at this point, with Chuchi still reigning strong as Speaker with Appeasement assembly members close on the tail of the Republicans. His Majesty Baron Papanoida wishes you well; apparently, you are one of a handful of remaining Pantorans who haven't washed out or were killed in battle with the Holdouts._"

Nitsu chuckled wryly.

"Great; no pressure!"

That coaxed a laugh from Lord Yil.

"_Be well, my son. Go._ Earn _those year stripes_."

He stared, dumbfounded.

"How did you know -"

A loud klaxon sounded overhead, with a sharp jolt as the transport's landing gear activated.

"Ah, I have to go now. I will speak to you soon, father. May the Goddess walk with you."

"A_nd the Horned One with you, my son._" He said, his image disappearing.

* * *

_**~ISD Zephyr Main **__**Hanger, 16BBY, **__**Vardos System**_

The door opened slowly with the cooling jets engaging to ensure no one was uncomfortable as they exited the transport. Nitsu fell into step behind the double column of Storm Troopers, not quite knowing what to do without an E-11 to mirror their actions.

"Hault!" One of the deck officers shouted, and the line stopped faster than a blaster bolt.

"Patrol Trooper, what are you doing in line?"

Nitsu looked to his left to see a scowling Imperial Officer nearly in his face, his mustache working furiously.

"I am PT twelve eleven, I was transferred here from Vardos, Sir."

"Ah, yes. The demoted Sergeant with too much media attention. Ensign!"

A smaller, meeker looking Officer stepped forward.

"Take him to P.T.R. One and send someone down to give him the refresher course."

"Understood, Sir."

He turned to look at Nitsu, with an only slightly veiled look of contempt in his eye.

"Follow me, twelve eleven."

Nitsu followed him in single column formation, matching his steps with his own.

"How on earth do you get thrown out of a Patrol Trooper post?" He asked with clear and acidic malice as the entered the elevator.

"Did you not boil your lieutenant's caf to his liking? Dropped a tea-kettle one too many times?"

Nitsu bit his lip and kept looking forward.

"Or perhaps you are some vile alien in disguise, just pretending to be human."

Saying that, he held up his hand Nitsu to hold postion as he did an about face to face the Pantoran as the door hissed open.

"Show me your ID, Trooper." He said, the idea clearly seeming to unnerve him.

He complied, receiving his data card from his belt and handing it to him.

"Pa… Pa...n toreen. What in the Galaxy is a _Pantoreen_? Take off your helmet, trooper!"

Pressing the fail-safe - so the helmet would not lock down when he tried to put it back on - Nitsu lifted it lightly and held it under his arm.

"With respect, it is pronounced '_Pantoran_', Sir."

He took a slight step back, seemingly recoiling, before some sort of savage recognition spread across him like a poison.

"Oh, _I_ remember your kind. Nearly two dozen of your people came to the new Royal Imperial Academy, nearly filling up a whole semester's worth of students. Glad most got taught a lesson that they belong in the dirt."

He looked him up and down.

"Well, congratulations twelve eleven, or whoever you are; you are now a part of the top the the dirt pile."

He motioned to the open elevator door on his right while handing his data card back.

"Follow me."

It wasn't far from the elevator, just a few sharp bends, and the door to the Personal Training Room stood clear to his eye.

"Get in there and wait for an Officer to train you."

Nitsu put on his helmet and - as he was still an officer - saluted, and entered.

The Personal Training Room, or Recruit room, was exactly as you would expect. It was a combination gym, firing range, and small study complex. The perfect place to keep in shape, keep your aim high, and your mind sharp.

Nitsu stood with his back against the wall for a while, and waited for an Officer to come train him.

And he waited.

And waited.

He blinked and a chrono activated on his HUD; a half hour.

Deciding that whoever it was that was to train him was busy or else wouldn't be there for a while, Nitsu wandered around the room for a bit, examining the equipment, and the small collections of informational holograms on the walls, before getting truly bored and saunters over to the empty shooting range.

Moving aside the chair, he picked up the training blaster that had been set aside on the table, loaded and ready to be fired.

It was reinforced with heavy, dense metals, no doubt so the recoil would be more powerful than a regular E-11. And after examining the clip, he saw where there would normally be tibanna or plasma, it was just a small battery. Little sparks to read on the monitor.

After spending an additional half hour at the range - going through every training blaster in the process until he was getting full marks on accuracy - he began to worry that the xenophobic Ensign had simply put him in the wrong room out of spite.

It wasn't until he was going to take off his helmet and watch the HoloNet News when the door opened and voices carried in.

"I'll see you round one eighty, I'm gonna fire a few rounds before heading back to bunks." A boisterous voice called before a cold assault Stormtrooper stepped in the door. He was fully armored - excluding his hood, which was tossed back and hanging behind his back - and with a heavy blaster slung over his shoulder, the colors on his uniform marking him as a higher rank than your regular trooper.

He turned and locked eyes with Nitsu, his smile stiffening as he froze.

"I'm sorry, I did not know this was being used." He said, his smile dampening slightly.

"Oh no, sir. This isn't in use, I've been waiting for transfer training."

His eyes widened and he slightly pushed his face forward, almost in a stooped stance.

"You have been waiting to be _trained_? Its nearly night shift! How long have you been here?"

Nitsu blinked and the chrono returned.

"A little over an hour, sir."

He sniffed slightly.

"Well, if you can stay in once place for that long you might qualify as a door guard. But here, I am qualified to train you. Im Snowtrooper Sergeant 6969, you can call me Gliese when we are off duty.

And, as Nitsu had hoped, Sergeant 6969 got his training done in less than a few minutes. It was mostly procedure, and explaining the unique quirks and norms on ship.

But by the Goddess there were a lot of quirks.

"Now, Lord Vader himself often spends time on this ship, as does many a member of the Inquisitors when they are hunting jedi. We are mostly a stationary ship, patrolling the… Vorgunti sector? Or was it the Anoat sector? Whatever. Anyways, we do keep permanent… areas, set aside for such distinguished people. I remember once a meeting of the High Command was held on ship; too many officers and Admirals and Grand Admirals to count. Fun times."

He pointed to a map.

"There are three main levels to the ship. First level connects to the main assembly hanger and to much of our computer systems. Our second floor is quite small, and only includes the brig, a few maintenance hatches, access to the second hanger, and the debriefing room. Third floor has the canteen, the access elevator to the bridge, as well as the med-bay and simulation room. All floors are accessible by the main elevator, just select a floor and you will end up right smack in the middle of it, got it?"

"Yes, sir. But sir, where are the quarters of the troops?"

"Bunks are temporarily set up around the ship in unused rooms. Currently the bunks are pretty temporary, but we sometimes have a drill where we all need to rush to the nearest bunks. Somewhat like a simulated war game, but with pillows and sleeping mats." He said dryly before laughing.

"Alright, that should finish this. I will summon an armorer to get you your bodysuit and armor, and you will be ready to go!" He said, keying a few buttons on a terminal.

He pressed a few more buttons after a minute, a bit harder this time.

All but breaking the keypad, he pressed them a third time.

Each time he got no response.

And then he smacked his forehead with his open palm.

"Of course, its after hours. Nearly everyone is in bed! Come on, I'll give you a tour. Follow me."

Nitsu balked.

"B… But sir! Are you sure you won't get into trouble?"

"Pish posh, c'mon trooper, you need new armor."

Reluctantly, he jogged to walk alongside his new friend.

"I never caught your name by the way?" He said by way of a question.

"Twelve Eleven, but if you would like you can call me Nitsu -"

"Nitsu it is! C'mon Nitsu, there should be plenty of materiel down here."

They moved down the sharply bending hall before stopping by a large pair of elevators.

"These are the central lifts I told you about. Just pop into one of these and you will get exactly where you need to go."

He waited until Nitsu had entered before pressing the level two key, causing the elevator to whine and begin to descend, the door hissing shut.

The door of the next floor opened quickly and as suddenly as if they had managed to hyperspace jump a floor down. Ahead, in clear letters spelled 'debrief', as they stepped into a large, open and empty hallway.

"One of the armories is this way. Just follow the hall and fork left, just… lets not bother the brig guards. They can be very nasty."

There was only one soldier standing on guard duty, standing so still and so unresponsive that he might as well could have been asleep in his armor.

And what an intimidating suit it was! It was simple Stormtrooper armor, but accented with red so as to better stand out. At his belt were a variety of gadgets not unlike those Nitsu wore while on duty, excluding the long barreled repeating blaster that he was leaning on.

"Well damn it. I could have sworn it was here…" Gliese said, scratching his head.

Nitsu, poor trusting Nitsu, approached the guard.

"Excuse me, sir? Do you know where the Armory is?"

As if struck with an electric wire, the trooper started and raised his blaster.

"_Who are you? Identify yourself!_"

"Stand down, soldier, he's with me." Gliese said, after whirling around and seeing the commotion.

"_There were no Patrol Troopers assigned to this ship…_"

"He's a transfer, we're taking him to the armory, which I am now remembering is on level one -"

"_It, is against_ protocol _for a transfer to be out of his area without being signed off by both his trainer and an armorer._"

Gliese stepped forward, a muscle twitching in his jaw.

"The _armorer_, like the rest of your _regiment_, is _asleep_. We are going to the _armory_ to get him his _armor_. Stand down trooper."

"_No, I will _not_. I will need to take you in._" He said gruffly, grabbing my arm and yanking me into the brig while he reached for his binders.

That was, until I heard a heavy smack and the distinct sound of an armored body hitting the floor.

"Cmon, let's get out of here!" Gliese said, wielding his blaster by the barrel and holding it like a mace

Nitsu was not a rule breaker by trade.

In fact, he wasn't a rule breaker _period_.

But he ran with that Sergeant. Oh, did he run.

"Aren't you, I don't know, _worried_ he will send someone after us?" He asked when they were near a large hallway tram.

Gliese shrugged.

"If he tries, they will just think he fell asleep and dreamed it. C'mon, the armory is just this way.

Indeed, it was just there. Shelves upon shelves upon *shelves* of armor and racks of black body gloves.

"You have the body-glove alright, but the armor needs to go. Start slipping, or decoupling or - you know what, just get the plastoid parts off so we can get the pieces that fit you together in a suit.

And so as Gliese sized him up with the eye and with the measuring tape, he slowly began to look less like a law enforcement officer and more like a Stormtrooper.

"We always start the new transfers as a Stormtrooper, before they decide to move on to greener pastures and go into the trade they studied, or prefer. One of the quirks here; we try to keep things lax between the regiments." the Snowtrooper said as he measured the front of his lower leg.

"Alright, all that's left is the chestplate, and the helmet. Lets get that bucket and see how wide your dome is."

Nitsu had lifted the helmet off of his head and set it on the table when he stiffened slightly.

He could see he was not human.

Nitsu turned to look at Gliese…

To see him impatiently waiting with two different sizes of helmet in his hands.

"C'mon Jogan fruit, you're almost done, then we can find this lazy son of a bitch and get him to sign you off."

Nitsu chuckled at that as he picked up his pace - favoring the smaller helmet over the larger one - and attaching the final armor-plate and securing it to his body glove.

"And… Presto! You are, a Stormtrooper. Now let me find this lazy Shrak…"

He hammered on a nearby office door, and the sudden, frazzled appearance of the low ranking officer clearly showed he had been sleeping.

"Hey, got a freshly armored trooper needing your signature."

"What? Oh, right away." The officer said, mindlessly signing Nitsu's data card before closing the door to the office to go back to sleep

And Gliese turned with a cat's grin to Nitsu.

"Told you we could do it. Now, you should run off to bunks; it's getting late, and I need to get some shut eye. I'll see you in the morning."

As he turned to leave, Nitsu called out to him.

"Wait, Sergeant? Gliese! Is it possible to join the Snowtroopers?"

Gliese turned around to face him, walking backwards as he did so.

"We host training to see if you can pass the mark. Check in with a deck officer and they should tell you. Night Nitsu!"

"Goodnight, Gliese!"

It had to be nearly midnight when Nitsu quietly stumbled into one of the empty bunks that was where he _thought_ the Stormtrooper bunks were. He had seen a few helmets laying around that looked close enough to his, that he didn't care. If chastisement for sleeping in the wrong bed was warranted, so be it; come hell or high water he was going to have a nice, long sleep. He only stripped down the torso armor, keeping on the shin-guards and the arm pieces, and fell asleep with his helmet beside him

He was at the bottom, but not as the Ensign had said.

The Ensign had told him that he was at the top of the shit pile. But in truth, he was at the bottom of a resplendent mountain. And one day soon, he hoped to climb it.

The higher Nitsu climbed, the louder his voice would be.

And the louder one's voice is, people wonder who that voice belongs to.

And Pantora might be brought back into the fold.

* * *

Small note; I don't have beef with shock, my first encounter was them trying to arrest me for being out of my designated area and being saved by turning that alive shock trooper not alive. That's all folks!


	4. Chapter 4: The Mutiny

_Here we are, back at it again with a new chapter to this story! And to those wondering, YES, I will work more on the Clone General, I have a chapter in the editing process because I don't want to rush through and put out half assed product. The Vampire story also needs to be worked on, but it will hopefully be finished once Clone General and N;TGI are finished.  
__With that said; here is another chapter of the story! -ARH_

* * *

_**~16 BBY, ISD **_**Zephyr, _Level One, Anoat Sector, Ison System~_**

Nitsu awoke bright and early that morning to collect his weapons from the armory; a standard issue E-11 and a DH-17 pistol as a sidearm. The pistol was lighter than he was used to, with the E-11 closer to his old Papanoid blaster. With his weapons, he quickly made his way to the cantina to eat a hearty breakfast - plus, there would be less people there to see his face - and then sat around, waiting.

It wasn't till noon that he heard the advertisement in general comms.

Snowtrooper training in Simulation room. Five minutes.

He roughly remembered where it was, asking a polite Stormtrooper Lieutenant for directions, and cleared his mind; he was ready.

For what better place for a Pantoran, a being of ice and snow, to thrive? Why, the regiment on the ship that specializes in cold weather engagements of course!

As he rounded the final area towards the sim room, he was amazed by what he saw.

An entirely weather-controlled room the size of an industrial hanger, with a simulated blizzard whipping through the sensors.

His helmet was flashing many warning gages, warning him against freezing temperatures; a useless warning, he was Pantoran, it took more than a little blizzard to freeze him.

Lined up in the closest wall was a trio of Stormtroopers - or what seemed to be Stormtroopers - with unique paint jobs on their armors. The one on the far left was certainly a Stormtrooper with his white, skull faced helmet, while the one to the right, while clearly some sort of trooper, had long stripes down the face of his helmet and accenting his armor not too unlike the brig guard; Shocktroopers, he thought he heard them called. But this was not a Shocktrooper, the crimson armored military police; these were front-line troops with heavy spray blaster-shotguns, and heavy blasters, accented with deep blue markings.

The next couldn't have been a traditional Stormtrooper, not by a long shot. Where a normal Stormtrooper would have been white, the armor was dyed a deep purple color like fruit leather, with black markings almost blending into the black body glove.

The Snowtrooper officer turned and looked at Nitsu as he entered, his dark mask and cloth normally painted white like the rest of the Snowtroopers, painted as black as tar in order to stand out as a figure of authority.

"Alright, that should be the last of them. Get on the wall there Twelve Eleven. You might be the last one interested; we'll wait a few minutes, see if anyone else is interested before be begin."

The time went by quickly, with only one other trooper entering; a deep blue colored Snow Lieutenant, here to assist in the trial.

"Alright, I believe we can get started. I am Snow Major Thirteen Twenty One, you can call me The Big One. I will be your trainer this morning and will decide if you have what it takes to join this unit. But before we begin, there are some things you need to know."

He held up one gloved finger.

"First, I don't think you truly know who we are and what we do. We, are the Cold Assault Regiment, the Snow Troopers. We are an assault regiment, one of the first men sent into combat. The pointed head of the spear; the first to fight, and die if necessary. We take the lead in all heavy engagements but especially anything involving cold weather regions like the Hoth system."

He gestured to the Lieutenant, who was holding an identical heavy blaster to the one Gliese had used to bludgeon the Shocktrooper with the previous night.

"As such, we are afforded heavy weapons and armor, including our beauty, the RT-97c. We are also afforded command of walkers and other cold weather vehicles in a time of crisis, but that is a rarity. Now, I will be having you four -"

Abruptly, the other stormtrooper moved from his position on the wall, and made for the door.

The Big Man watched for a moment, before shaking his head and waving over the Lieutenant.

"Did you get a note on that Trooper's ID, Church?"

The Lieutenant nodded.

"Corporal twenty ninety five. I'll send a message to the drill officer."

The Major cleared his throat before continuing.

"As I was saying, this group will be mostly a heavily physical role, without much guard duty or patrolling afforded to our schedule. However, we - as with all other troops on this ship - will be required to serve our time guarding. Now, we will begin with a mostly physical test here in this blizzard, to see how you get on with all the cold. Lieutenant, you take the Stormtrooper, I'll work with these two."

The Lieutenant Church motioned for Nitsu to step closer, grasping his armor's pauldron and gesturing forward.

"Alright trooper, can you see through the snow alright?" He asked.

"Yes, Sir!" Nitsu replied enthusiastically.

"You see that building on the far side? Do you think you can make it when we fire our mark?"

"Yes, sir -"

"Remove your armor segments."

Nitsu looked back to the Lieutenant

"Sir?"

"You heard me."

So he did, and stood beside the other troops in only their helmets and belt, the others shivering in the cold while Nitsu stood rigidly at attention in his dark body glove.

This oddity did not escape the notice of the Major.

"Trooper twelve eleven! Are you not the slightest bit cold? It is nearly minus fifty!" He bellowed over the increasing winds and the rattling of the chattering trooper's E-11s as Lieutenant Church increased the artificial storm's intensity.

"No, Sir! This is no colder than a storm on my homeworld, sir!"

He seemed to bob his head slightly, as if lurching because of a poorly hidden laugh.

"Well, it seems you were _made_ for this regiment, trooper!"

The Major drew his heavy side arm and fired into the air, signaling them to begin.

The others quickly overtook Nitsu, spurred on no doubt by the primal fear of exposure that Humans had.

And promptly were up to their thighs in soft snow as they tried to climb a snowbank.

Nitsu, with his expertise in navigating the cold weather in heavier suits than this, quickly passed them by avoiding the high ground and moving in sharp, rhythmic movements, making it to the shelter a long while before the others.

And the next part of the training began.

Two marked snow troopers lunged from the settlement, raising their fists in an attack stance.

"Sorry trooper; gotta go through him before you can get in!" One of them said, throwing him a combat baton as the other readied to fight.

Nitsu caught the weapon with one hand as the other lunged, their non-standard weapons clanging in the air and seeming to crack slightly from the intensity of the cold.

And the lack of heavy padding was beginning to affect Nitsu's defensive strategy, if his bruised arms and sides were any indicator.

With a harsh blow, the trooper struck him across the helmet, sending him to the snow.

When Nitsu stood back up however, there was a problem: the normal storm-trooper helmets were not meant to survive in such hostile environments, and due to both the intense cold and the strikes, the visor had completely shattered.

Meaning the helmet had only one last use to him

As the trooper charged Nitsu again, he lifted his helmet from his head and used it like a gigantic cup, catching the end of the baton while quickly striking the trooper in the chest and delivering a powerful kick to the man's stomach.

With a loud grunt, the man fell to one knee, tossing aside the baton and breathing heavily; Nitsu had won.

"Pick up the pace troopers!"

Nitsu turned to see the remaining soldiers dawdling along with the Major and Lieutenant hounding them to keep moving.

And in that state, even fighting an opponent who had just been fighting, they lost horribly and were ejected from the test; the blizzard being lowered so they could make their timely exit.

"Well, that explains it!" The Major said with a slight smile, throwing back his hooded helmet with a smirk on his jagged face.

"You aren't the only one out of place here, Pantoran. Get inside the shelter, we'll get you your new armor and update your files." The Clone Trooper said, grinning slightly as the icy wind whipped through his graying hair.

Nitsu entered breathing heavily and slightly cold, dressed only in the tattered remnants of his Stormtrooper Armor. When he left the warm shelter constructed of metal sheets, he was completely different.

A heavy, tan padded suit now covered his body, very much unlike the normal black body glove that seemed to be characteristic of the Imperial troopers. Attached to this warm insulated padding were various pieces of armor, specially designed to counteract frosting and freezing issues while remaining non reflective in the snow. Round his waist was a thin Kama, both for added insulation, and to act as emergency patching for a suit breach.

"Not that you should have any trouble with *that*," The Major said, giving two friendly punches to the shoulder.

The belt was similar to his Stormtrooper belt, yet with heavier pouches full of additional charges and maintenance equipment for his suit. And attached to his back was the large temperature regulator device that allowed the troopers to not only stay warm in cold environments but stay cool on the ship. Additionally, it served as a storage container, with food and supplies that should last a trooper one month without resupply, with enough gear to make a camp distinct enough to be noted by Imperial scouts, but discreet enough to be missed by all but the most sharp eyed of enemies.

His chest piece did give Nitsu a bit of hope; it was not too unlike the armor afforded to Officers of the Empire, and he wondered in the back of his mind if perhaps the Snowtroopers would be his road back to the status of an Isik, or the Imperial equivalent anyways.

The hood was heavy and in Nitsu's opinion, suffocating. However, it had a fascinating feature of being able to tell the temperature of the area around the wearer; something his old Patrol Trooper helmet and his now broken Stormtrooper helmet could not do.

Plus, it could be taken off and flopped backwards and forgotten about until needed, which was certainly a bonus.

"Lastly, you got your weapons. To start is our heavy weapon; RT-97c. Very powerful, and tends to overheat. When it overheats, it misfires, and when it misfires… Well, don't misfire."

The Lieutenant handed him one of the large rifles, and showed him how to attach it to his suit's temperature regulator.

"Next is the E-11A, not too much different than your old weapon, but with an aditonal stock, and will fire more blaster shots." Lieutenant Church said, handing him the black weapon.

"Last weapon you should be familiar with, the light DH-17 pistol, which you already have." He said, pointing to Nitsu's holster.

The Lieutenant then reached into one of his pouches, and pulled out a small device that looked alarmingly like an explosive.

"These have a long and complex name that, between you and me, I forgot an age ago. But we in the Snow Regiment call them the Armor Grenades."

He activated it, dropping it to the floor in front of a terrified Nitsu, who began to back away and look frantically for cover.

"It releases a type of gelatin that is released into the air and is automatically attracted to your armor and the armor of your fellow troopers. They aren't the strongest, but they can absorb and dissipate a shot that would have normally blackened your armor."

The device exploded, but only at the sides, a bluish mist puffing outwards and gravitating towards the Lieutenant's armor. And to dramatically demonstrate his point, he drew his own pistol and fired against his chest, earning a shout from Nitsu as the blaster bolt simply was swallowed by the light blue coating, and leaving a bare patch on his dusting of armor-stuff.

"The trick is to throw these at the feet of any engagement of troopers you see. Even if it only armors their backs, you will have done your part before you get your gun dirty."

The Lieutenant then activated a hologram projector, looking at a list.

"I believe that is all, Major. This Snowtrooper is ready."

Major thirteen twenty one approached Nitsu and held out his hand.

"Data card."

Nitsu obliged, and the Major pressed a few keys on the screen before it chimed.

"Snowtrooper Twelve Eleven, welcome to the Snowtrooper Regiment of the ISD Zephyr."

The two officers saluted Nitsu, who saluted back in turn.

He didn't even try to hide his smile, which was noticed by the Clone Major.

"Oh, don't go grinning on us Trooper! We don't need a toothy Trandosian in this Regiment!" He said, giving him a smack on the shoulder.

"Get outta here twelve eleven, I need to summon the clean up droids."

* * *

_**~16 BBY, ISD**_** Zephyr, _Level Three_, _Anoat Sector, Ison System~_**

Nitsu was marching with another trooper when he heard the comm call.

The trooper was his senior by a few ranks, but they both clearly fell into the category of 'Trooper'. Not officer, not sergeant, not corporeal. Just trooper.

They had just saluted a pair of crisply dressed black uniformed Naval Guards when he heard the call in his helmet.

[_All Troopers on Level Three, Report to bunks Immediately!_]

Nitsu frowned behind his hood, puzzled.

Was something wrong? He heard no alarms, no klaxons sounding, and no telltale distress alarm of a downing ship.

What on earth was going on?

He turned to ask the more senior trooper as much, when he saw that he had vanished.

No doubt back to bunks, assuming Nitsu would follow.

Damn.

He sprinted back to his bunks, streaking down the hall past confused Medical Troopers and a trio of his own Regimental Cousins, the Shoretroopers.

The door to his bunks hissed open and, as he had feared, all troops had gotten to bunks before he had.

"We'll just wait for Twelve Eleven to -" A Sergent was saying to the line of troopers before he turned his hooded head to look directly at Nitsu.

"Get, in line trooper. You are _late_." He barked coldly, causing Nitsu's cheeks to turn dark blue in embarrassment under his helmet as he hurried to stand against the wall.

His helmet identified the man as Staff Sergeant Zero Two Nine Eight.

Nitsu had only been in the regiment for a day, but when he took his noon meal with his fellow Snowtroopers, they all spoke in near scared reverence of one Sergeant. One they called Zero Two Ninety Eight.

The Human with no name, but who took the title of STS.

Supremely Terrifying Sergeant.

A sergeant who spoke with the voice of an admiral, yet was duly humble to his station. A near perfect soldier.

And a dangerous man to cross.

"Alright troops, listen close 'cause I'll only say this _once_." He barked, beginning to pace up and down the line of troops.

"You don't need to know the details, but there is an insurrection in progress on this ship. I have been charged to lead you down and head off the mutineers while we try to get them under control."

He stopped before Nitsu, turning to face him.

"Anyone with questions, step forward." He demanded.

Only Nitsu took the slightest of steps forward.

"Twelve Eleven, what is your PTS?"

"With all due respect, Sir, why do we not simply storm their area and kill them? Certainly that would -"

"Because nearly an entire _Regiment_ has been caught up in this mess. We have identified the Regiment being led along and they are not at fault, but the Officer leading them, is. All troopers, follow me. No need for any formal columns, get down to the Level Two tramway, double-time!"

As Nitsu joined the horde of Snowtroopers, he felt a slight - but deliberate - shove to his left shoulder.

Turning to see what had hit him, his helmet identified Snowtrooper Sergeant 6969.

"_Gliese_?"

"Good to see you in the ol' skirt, Nitsu!" He said with a chuckle.

"But let's not get ahead of ourselves, follow STS and you will come up smelling nice. Don't, and you might find yourself out the wrong side of an airlock. Let's keep moving.

They assembled near a large service elevator not too far from the room Nitsu had first met Gliese at. And at the bottom of said elevator, stood the long hallway with an industrial grade tram running down the middle.

"Alright troopers, just got an update from upstairs. Their base of operations is within the second hangerbay, at the end of that hallway. We need to set up a checkpoint here, to prevent them from getting to the engine room. I want an advanced firing line here, straddling the tram and elevator. Get going!"

Nitsu approached STS.

"Sir, it might be good to scout ahead to see the intensity of the situation."

The Staff Sergeant paused at that, and actually seemed to consider his idea.

"You have a point. Anyone volunteer to check out their little stronghold?"

No one spoke up.

"Looks like you volunteered to go, Twelve Eleven." STS said when he turned back to face him.

"Go get em' Nitsu!" Gliese said with a clear smile of pure jest clear to his voice.

"Lock it up, 6969!" STS barked, but with an underlying edge of humor to the order nonetheless.

When Nitsu heard the term "_stronghold_", he thought the Staff Sergeant was over-reacting. Maybe the delusional clones had just, perhaps, lined up some boxes to form a barricade.

And Nitsu - as it seemed to so often be the case - was wrong in his assumption.

They had, somehow, managed to get untold amounts of scrap metal and rusted pieces of containment fencing, and had set up a massive checkpoint that dwarfed the attempted roadblock the fellow Snowtroopers were setting up in the hallway.

Pushing aside the feeling of sheer awe at the industriousness of these mutineers, he kept his distance and observed.

They had one massive wall separating the hanger in two. Ahead of the hanger, they had very dingy - yet surprisingly official looking - checkpoint stations and… was that a…"

He stepped closer, just to hear what was going on.

And he was correct - at least _this_ time, he was correct - on his earlier assumption.

They weren't just mutinying. They had tried to establish a fully functional _micro-nation_ within the star destroyer!

The checkpoint had clear letters above, reading '_Welcome to Arstotzka, Sovereign Nation_' with a modified Imperial Crest painted besides it.

People were stamping false documents _with_ stamps made with that symbol, raising their hands and saying in silly voices 'Glory to Arstotzka' whenever a trooper entered.

Nitsu was not foolish enough to go in the front gate. He did not, under any circumstances, want to be mistaken for one of this Arstotz. Aristocian… Whatever they called themselves.

Fortunately, he had explored this area of the ship whilst marching on patrol, and knew of another way.

Up the side staircase, past a few bunks and maintenance areas, and you would be directly behind the area.

Unfortunately, they had thought of that.

"Um, excuse me! You Can't be back here!" A mechanized voice called out once Nitsu had entered the upper area.

One of those blue painted Stromtroopers - this one clearly with status, what with the colored pauldron, kama, and rank plaque spot-welded to his chest-plate - quickly walked over towards the Pantoran scout.

His weapon was not even drawn, and his hands were empty; almost as if he wasn't a soldier and was a bureaucrat instead. But, his helmet clearly identified him as a member of the 501st Regiment of this ship.

"Oh, sorry! I was just exploring. What *is* this place?" He asked in mock amazement, playing the part of naive transfer for as long as possible.

"This is the nation of Aristotzka, founded by the 501st and Fleet Major Dan."

Nitsu nodded in understanding.

"_Ah_, so this is a restricted area?"

The trooper nodded.

"Yes, but not for much longer."

He leaned in close and did a mock whisper, holding a hand up as if he wasn't wearing a helmet.

"We plan to move to the engine-bay, where we are going to go to the _super-land_!"

Nitsu blinked behind his hood.

Definitely delusional.

"Alright then, well I'll make sure to keep out of this area then, I'll see you around!" Nitsu said in a friendly tone, backing away slowly.

"Of course. Just remember! If you see any 501st that look like me, tell them to head on down!" The trooper said with a friendly wave before walking off to Gods know where as Nitsu double timed it back to the checkpoint.

His fellow troopers had made an imposing wall of bodies and guns. Like the old spear phalanxes of his own home world, the long barrels of the RT-97c's jutted out like sharp points, while the Staff Sergeant has his own weapon standing by.

"Hold fire! It's Twelve Eleven." He said, holding up a hand as Nitsu approached.

"What did you find?"

"They are completely delusional. They believe they are a small sovereign nation, and have sealed off almost the entire area of the hangerbay. And one of them mentioned to me that they plan to march to the engine bay." Nitsu replied, standing at attention.

"In that case we'd better brace ourselves. Get in line with the others, I'll ask upstairs for advice.

Nitsu took up an empty spot crouching down behind the dormant cargo tram, while a fellow trooper stood behind him in order to maximize damage.

Then, the horde arrived.

Hundreds of troopers, members of the 501st, and scatterings of pure white Stormtrooper marched forward, with their terrifying call echoing down the wall.

"Glory to Arstotzka!" they called, all loudly marching with the sound of hundreds of footfalls rumbling like thunder.

"Hold!" STS yelled, raising his own blaster.

The group approached, close enough that Nitsu could see their identities flash in his hood's HUD.

"All Snow, stand down and move aside, let them through!" He yelled.

Nitsu turned, confused.

"Repeat that, sir?"

"I said _stand down_! Any trooper that fires on them I will see demoted!"

Like an old fashioned book, the snow parted for the sea of troopers, led by their rebellious leader.

Nitsu however, was confused, and a bit angry.

They were letting this delusional idiots into the _engine room_, the ticking metal heart of the entire ship.

When the group passed, STS bid the remaining Snowtroopers to disperse, but motioned for Nitsu and Gliese to follow him.

"C'mon, I _don't_ want to miss this!" He said, laughter on the tip of his tongue.

Nitsu cocked his head to the side, but followed his leader into the engine room nonetheless.

_Miss_? What was there to miss other than a group of idiots celebrating -

Then he heard the crackling ignition and hum of a lightsaber.

Lord Vader, flanked by two cloaked Inquisitors, stood over the pile of vaguely human shaped parts that had once been the rebellious leader, as the mob of troopers was completely silent, with some at the edges begining to edge towards the door Nitsu, STS, and Gliese had entered through.

Whatever spell the leader had cast over them had clearly _not_ outlived him

"_Return to your duties_." Darth Vader said with a venomous undertone, deactivating his weapon and returning it to his belt with the force, his arms crossed while the Inquisitors scanned the crowd for anyone who breathed resistance to his order.

Ah. That explained it.

STS had no doubt been ordered to let them pass by Lord Vader himself, so he might execute the ones leading his Fist astray.

"That was fun." Gliese said lightly.

STS chuckled darkly.

"I can't wait till the blood sports act gets repealed; look forward to putting some filthy aliens though their paces.

Nitsu remained silent.

"Excluding you… Nitsu, right?" STS said, nodding in appreciation.

"I think you'll do alright in this Regiment. Now if you excuse me, *I* need a cup of caff."

Nitsu and Gliese watched their superior go.

"Ten credits I can hit him with my armor grenade."

"_Gliese_, no!"

"Daw, you're no fun."

* * *

And here we have the dramatic story of me being the only one who didn't walk out of a snow tryout, and taking part in the 501st rebellion. And yes, that last one didn't have too much speculation to it. Garry's mod can be strange. But hey; Welcome to Zephyr! haha. -ARH.


	5. Chapter 5: Training and Pirates

_**~16BBY, **__**ISD **_**Zephyr,_ Imperial Defense Fleet of Gand, S_****_hadola sector, Gand System, _****_Outer-rim~_**

After the 501st's failed revolution, Nitsu went into a flurry of action, taking part in every small group activity and simulation he could.

The first was a group simulation in the gunnery bay to celebrate Empire Day.

Normally, this room was quite empty. There were only a few things within the room, the small catwalks on the rooms left hand side with the turbolaser control, as well as the catwalks above that monitored the status of the heavy ordinance.

And across the room from that, stood the observation deck, where officers would receive orders and targets from the bridge and relay them to the guns. A complex system, but one that made the ship relatively flexible; attackers would have to destroy both the bridge _and_ turbolaser control if they wanted to truly weaken the ship enough to attempt boarding.

However, the ISD _Zephyr_ was in friendly space; orbiting the Imperial world of Gand with its sister ship the ISD _Tempest_. As such, the gunnery crews were given leave to celebrate on the planet, and the room was mostly just collecting dust.

However a smartly dressed Imperial Fleet Lieutenant - Yamato, if he remembered correctly - knew better than to let a room in a large ship of the line go to waste, and had arranged for a large combat simulation to take place.

Normally, the large gap between fire control and the actual gunners was empty.

Not today.

Large obstacles had been moved from the other, larger dedicated Simulation room - currently in use by the fruit-leather colored troops, the 996th Regiment - and were scattered about the room organically, in order to provide flavor and a pseudo-maze styled structure.

In the lack of combat, the simulation attracted many distinguished guests, high ranking officers of every regiment and even members of the Imperial Officers of both ISDs _Zephyr_ and _Tempest_ had lined up to watch.

The Lieutenant pressed a key from his place above the simulation in the Fire Control, allowing his voice to cascade throughout the room and echo off the walls.

"[_Attention Troopers taking part in this Simulation. This will be a free-for-all Simulation, to show your skills of fighting multiple enemies. You will be provided specific weapons with sun rounds to prevent injury. Leave your weapons by the entrance; a Naval Guard will look after them._]"

The weapon of choice was the heavy blaster pistol most often used by members of the Imperial Fleet who had the credits; the SE-14c. A powerful, heavy weapon. Simply _hitting_ someone with it might kill them, much less firing with real rounds.

The troops were then ordered to spread out, all getting out of range and avoid being stunned as soon as the simulation began.

Most were Stormtroopers. Three were members of the ISD Zephyr's scouting detachment, and one was a Sergeant of the Snowtrooper's sister-regiment; the Shoretroopers. SHRT Thirty Eight Sixty Four - Or Aug, as he called himself - a minor sharpshooter in his own right.

"[_Begin simulation!_]" The Lieutenant's voice called down.

Nitsu spotted a Stormtrooper, weapon down and not at all alert, turn a corner only to immediately take a shot to the chest from Nitsu, downing him with a groan.

Flattening against the wall, he saw one of the Scouts investigate the noise as the sound of blaster fire roared around the room, Nitsu only just managing to squeeze off a shot before the Scout, causing his round to go wild.

He didn't have long to bask in his two immediate hits; a shot fired too high shot past his head, and he ducked to avoid the next round.

Another Scout. Clearly they stuck together.

Firing three shots wildly just to buy himself time to get to cover, he heard the groan and thud of one of his shots actually connecting.

He was directly under where many of the high ranking officers were standing, passively observing the simulation and talking among themselves.

And as Nitsu stood crouched, firing another shot to spook a Stormtrooper into retreating, he heard them mention him.

"That one Snowtrooper is doing quite well." One of the grey uniformed Officers said to a helmetless Deathrooper Colonel.

"Yes, Twelve Eleven is fighting like a machine!" He said, not bothering to hide that he was impressed by the low ranking trooper's downed enemies.

Nitsu beamed under his mask, almost tempted to shout up his thanks and give the superior officers a salute.

But in the time he had basking in his joy, he did not pay attention to the simulation.

A loud shot seemed to belch from right beside Nitsu's ear, as he turned to see the Stormtrooper fall to the ground, to reveal the Shoretrooper Aug and his own weapon.

He fired before Nitsu could even raise his weapon.

"Nothing personal bud." The Shoretrooper said before Nitsu slumped down, the stun round making him groggy and lethargic.

* * *

Once Nitsu had woken up - The bright green armored Medical Regiment fussing over the stunned troopers - He and the entire Snowtrooper Regiment was summoned to his bunks by order of…

He stiffened.

By order of the Commander of the Snowtroopers.

This, was big.

The Commander of the Snowtroopers did not often call meetings like this. Protocol often said that his Regimental High Command - His Lieutenants, Captains, Colonels, and other Officers - would handle the movement of the Regiment, while he often worked with the Other Commanders and members of the Command Staff of the Star Destroyer in order to calculate battle tactics and contingency plans.

Whatever was going on, this was no ordinary little lunch meeting.

* * *

_**~16 BBY, ISD **_**Zephyr_'s Snowtrooper Bunks, _****_Shadola sector, Gand System, Imperial Garrison Fleet, _****_Third Floor,_**

"Attention, Commander on deck! A Colonel barked harshly as Commander Artan approached the line of troopers.

Snowtroopers would often simply have little decorations on their armor, at least when their Officer status permitted it. A little pin to showcase their heritage.

Not the Commander.

The Commander's entire uniform was his decoration.

Where a Snowtrooper's regular, unmarked armor was the purest of white, Commander Artan's armor was painted pitch black from his head to his boots, looking more like a Deathtrooper than a Snowtrooper.

"Troopers, today is a special day. I have been speaking to the Commanders of our Regiments in order to do a combat simulation. I managed to arrange a simulation with the Commander of the Chimaera Squadron."

Nitsu inhaled sharply, and clearly he was not the only one to show shock at this, as one of the Officers barked an order for them all to be silent.

There were certain levels of infamy amongst the ship. Stormtroopers, while many in number, were mostly rushed out of the academies to fill the vacuum left by the Clones once Emperor Palpatine decommissioned them. Snowtroopers, Shocktroopers, Shoretroopers, as well as the 501st and 996th held the status as Assault Regiments; to be the head of the spear, as the Major once said.

Then there were the other side of the coin. The stealth unites. The elite units. There were members of the scouts, and the battle hardened members of the Deathroopers.

But there was one group, said to be hand picked from the most ruthless of the Deathtroopers, to become beasts among men.

The Chimaera Squadron.

Wearing advanced Stormtrooper armor painted grey - or else it was grey due to some secretive new technology - they were accened with luminescent colors, all but daring enemies to attack them and die due to their elite weaponry.

Their prowess was so attested to, that many members of the ISD ***Zephyr***'s Command Staff often preferred to be guarded by them over the Deathtroopers.

The Snowtroopers, verses the best of the best.

Great Being of the Ancestors, give him strength.

The door to the Snowtrooper Bunks hissed open, and silently the single column of troops slid into the room like ghosts, almost robotically tuning and adjusting themselves.

Forming up into lines, the Commander saluted our own Commander, his bright teal pauldron and Kama shifting as he did so.

"Commander Artan."

"Commander Xtio."  
The two leaders shook hands and embraced one another in a friendly manor.

"They are still cleaning up the mud from the simulation room, and gunnery bay is still a mess from Lieutenant Yamato's simulation earlier today." The Chimaera Squad Commander said, nodding in the general direction of both rooms in turn.

"Yes, I thought of that. I am thinking we adjust our simulation into a breach-and-clear simulation, with your Chimaera breaching our bunks; without the destruction of the door, of course." Commander Artan added on the end.

"That sounds like a good idea. I'll summon a Naval Guard to keep people out of the crossfire and to ensure that we don't have a security team running down to take us all to the brig." Commander Xtio said, before making a motion to his troopers, all of which slunk out of the room to await their orders.

Almost like droids…

Nitsu shuddered.

No. While the Empire did repurpose a few of the less harmful models, there was no way a Commando had been allowed to get into the Imperial Navy. They were probably just trained to move like that, or maybe…

He had heard rumors that the members of the Deathtroopers had been enhanced in special labs on Scarriff. Maybe these Chimaera had robotic enhancements as well as whatever they got in the laboratories.

"Alright troopers, move any personal items you have into the bunk shelves, and let's start moving furniture to make barricades." Commander Artan said, directing two of his officers to push aside the paperwork desk, while Nitsu fell in line with the other troopers to ensure their effects were safely stowed away.

Nitsu did not have much; a small wooden totem with the icons of the Four Goddesses and the seal of the death god Pantor; a mobile shrine for military Pantorans always on the move.

Then, he aided a lance corporal in pushing aside a large lounge in order to better make cover.

The time passed remarkably quickly, with the Chimaera Commander checking in at the fifteen minute mark to see if they were ready to begin.

Their strategy was impressive, forged by their obvious veteran members and sheer battle experience. A mixture of spinning smoke screen explosives as well as flash-bangs blinded and basked their approach, while their personal cloaking devices permitted them to enter relatively unseen

However, Nitsu was floundering. While the flash and was normally a very potent weapon against humans, it was especially effective against Nitsu's light sensitive eyes.

When he had finally recovered - long after most of the others had - the Chimaera Squad had broken the Snowtroopers into two groups that were cut off from one another.

A large portion of the regiment were behind a large blast proof devising wall, bisecting the large room into two smaller rooms, while Nitsu and a small hand of troopers were stuck binding behind spare bits of furniture as they were being picked off.

Nitsu, still with a full clip of stun rounds, stood up and unleashed a barrage on the uncloaked and I expecting chimera, managing to blast one with so many stun grounds that he went flying backwards before landing hard on his armored stomach. Whirling to face this new threat, the deep retorts of their advanced E-11D blasters ripped through the air, with Nitsu only managing to hit two more with his wild shots before he went down.

He awoke to the light stinging sensation of the adrenaline needle, and the simulation began again.

This time, he was downed almost immediately after the flashbangs were dropped, with the same result the third and final round as well.

With the simulation over, the final formalities of shaking hands and splitting members of the other side commenced, with a few troopers seeking one another out and complimenting them on their tactics.

And to Nitsu's intense surprise - and to his delight - none other than Commander Xion himself approached the raw recruit.

"Snowtrooper Twelve Eleven, you fought well in that first found, you managed to not only bring me down, but two other members of my men. Good shooting; I look forward to seeing what you can do in the future."

"Thank you, sir! Nitsu replied eagerly, saluting the Commander.

With formalities wrapping up, the two Commanders shook hands and saluted, and the two Regiments bid their farewells; Chimaera marching away in their sleek lines, while the Snowtroopers formed up in their wrecked bunks and debriefed.

"I will see about getting a more reinforced desk to use as immediate cover for the door in the future, and ask the Command Staff for more funds to add sturdier cover on this other side," Commander Artan said, gesturing to the destroyed former living area.

"However I feel we did well. We managed to only just push them back in the first round, thanks to a few people who managed to get behind their lines. Second and third round we did average; we need to focus on group coordination. I expect the Officers to begin implementing this into the training regimens."

He then gestures for the other officers to stand beside him.

"Now, for promotions. Zero Two Ninety Eight, step forward."

STS took one step out of the line, standing at rigid attention.

"Your seizure of command when the higher officers went down in the second attack was not only necessary but effective. Although you were recently promoted for your actions against the 501st muiriny, we feel that you are fit to be promoted to Sergeant Major. Congratulations." Artan said, updating STS's datacard.

"Snowtrooper Twelve Eleven, step forward."

Nitsu's breath hitched slightly as he moved.

"We have heard quite a bit of good things about you. Your service alongside Zero Two Ninety Eight, and your performance in both simulations today warrant your promotion from Private to Private First Class. Congratulations." He said, holding his hand out for Nitsu's datacard.

Nitsu obliged, his smile growing under his helmet.

Private First Class.

While he was a long while away from his old rank on Vardos, and certainly far away from his even older rank on Pantora, it was a clear start.

What is more, he somehow managed to get the attention of two high ranking officers on his prowess.

Thank the Goddess of fortune.

* * *

_**~16 BBY, ISD **_**Zephyr, _Sertar Sector, Florrum System~_**

His next few days passed without much interest. The Pantoran Private First Class participated in an unprecedented third simulation the next day. While he did little in his eyes to warrant any good word of mouth, regardless he received yet another promotion for his actions, causing him to leap to the unprecedented rank of Lance Corporal, third in command of a squad.

Nitsu's mind was in the summer-land; he was quickly approaching a command position with seemingly every passing hour.

On his fourth day with the regiment, he heard it.

The whining, droning call of the ship's alarm, while the vibrations of enemy turbolasers struck the ISD _Zephyr_'s hull.

He didn't slip his helmet on in time to hear the details, but the situation was clear.

The infallible ship was under attack.

The Pantoran Lance Corporal was summoned by his Sergeant - a new face by the numbers Eighteen Eighteen, ordered his troopers to a small junction at the end of their long hallway.

This hallway connected not just two sets of Bunks and the main walkway to the bridge, but connected to a series of catwalks overlooking the titanic main hanger. The fourth and final connection was a large service elevator - designed to move cargo crates from level two to level three, but just as often would carry a squadron of troops between floors.

Nitsu expected he and his fellow troops would be ordered to spread out in a claw formation, each keeping an eye on the individual areas in turn.

His Sergeant had other plans.

"All of you, I want an advanced firing line with your weapons focused down the service elevator shaft! If those borders get through they have a clear cut path through to the engine and the bridge."

Nitsu obeyed the order without outward question, but the questions he would have _liked_ to have asked still hung in his mind.

Why was a squad of an assault regiment, with some of the most powerful weapons on the ship, standing here while confirmed contacts of the attackers were called out in their comms?

One Private said as much to the Sergeant, who quickly shut him down.

"We're the only ones here, and it's a job that needs to be done. Hold formation."

Nitsu rolled his eyes at that.

There were some jobs that not every trooper could fulfill. He hoped his Sergeant realized that before their presence was needed - or worse, they were outflanked with all their effort focused on the elevator shaft alone.

As he was pondering this, he heard something… out of place.

The loud, mechanized footfalls of a walker.

Walkers would have no use in this battle except to destroy boarding craft. And to his knowledge, the intruders had landed their craft in the second hanger, not the large first hanger behind them.

Which meant…

"Sir, I think that walker is under enemy control! I suggest we break ranks and engage!"

"Denied, Twelve Eleven. We hold here."

Over the ship-wide comms, the loud voice of Yamato bellowed into the input.

"[_Who in _blazes _let those insurgents get hold of a walker? I want that thing destroyed_ now.]" He bellowed, with both the deep blasts of an AT-ST's main cannon and the light fire of E-11s echoed from behind him.

"Hold troopers, hold until I give the word!" The Sergeant shouted as he saw one raw recruit move to stand on the catwalks.

It was at this moment the service elevator carrying a Snowtrooper Lieutenant reaches the third level, with the officer shouting at the squadron.

"Why are you all doing _standing_ here? Get on that catwalk and destroy that walker!"

"But if the insurgents get past this elevator -" The sergeant tried to argue, before the superior officer cut him off.

"They already took the main elevator and have penetrated this floor. All of you, get on the catwalk and begin firing, we have more troopers on the way!" He said, gesturing to the service elevator lowering again to answer the waiting lines of heavy troops below.

The walker was burning by the time Nitsu's squad lined up and opened fire, cracking its metal armor like an eggshell and exploding it in a fiery ball of fire.

Then, the general call was sent for all troopers to report to the debriefing room.

Nitsu had been to debriefings before on his home-moon of Pantora, but not any of this scale.

Every regiment was lined in sharp ranking order, while the officers of the Command Staff brought them all up to speed on what had happened.

Lieutenant Yamato - the same Yamato who organized the first Simulation Nitsu had taken left in - stepped forward and spoke into the speaker.

"We received a distress call from a civilian ship, under attack by space creatures. When we arrived, it was clear we had been baited into responding by a group of pirates. Of course, they had not been expecting a star destroyer, and we quickly destroyed their ship but not before they landed in the second Hanger Bay. _somehow_ they got their hands on the access codes for an AT-ST and ran rampant in Hangar Bay one until we managed to destroy it. You all operated admirable, especially Shadow Squadron for destroying the pirates shields and allowing our turbolasers to do the heavy lifting. Now, I will accept any recommendations for promotion, and they will be submitted to your individual Regimental High Command."

A few troopers and officers stepped forward offering those outside of their own regiment - to prevent bias - for promotion or in one case demotion for fleeing the combat zone.

And after a brief applause for those that were chosen to be promoted on the spot by the Command Staff for actions they personally witnessed - STS receiving Second Lieutenant for his actions in holding the invaders back from the engine bay - they all were dismissed. Most were recalled back to their bunks for a Regimental debrief, to discuss the actions of the regiment as a whole, assess losses, and promote those that deserved it. The Snowtrooper Regimental High Command opted this time to not hold a Regimental Debrief, but a single trooper was called to bunks.

Nitsu.

* * *

When he arrived, he saw three men waiting for him.

The first was a Snowtrooper Colonel, his dark accented armor marked with an Imperial Crest on his left shoulder's armored Pauldron. The second was a Snowtrooper Lieutenant; the very same one who he had seen seize command of his squad when Sergeant Eighteen Eighteen refused to break his area and attack the hijacked Imperial Walker.

The third and final figure turned Nitsu's blood to ice.

A member of the dreaded Imperial Security Bureau. The spies and proverbial whip to punish traitors.

All three turned and faced Nitsu when he entered.

"Ah, here he is," the Colonel said, pointing to Nitsu.

Nitsu took a deep breath, and held his head up high.

If he was to be accused, he would take it with grace and if necessary, submit to the member of ISB with the meekness of a Drol lizard.

"Snowtrooper Twelve Eleven, you are a Lance Corporal in Sergeant Eighteen Eighteen's squad, is that correct?" The ISB member said, his thumbs resting in a relaxed, casual manor in his belt.

"Yes, sir." Nitsu replied quickly.

"Can you describe what he ordered his squad to do in this last attack?"

Nitsu frowned.

Was this some kind of test?

"He ordered us to the corridor junction linking the hallway to our bunks to the hangar bay one catwalks, the level two service elevator, and to the bridge. He ordered us to guard only the service elevator, as he was afraid that the boarding party would use it to reach the bridge and engine bay."

"Did you find this plan was effective?"

Nitsu prepared to speak, but hesitated.

He wasn't one to simply speak poorly about his superior officers.

"Trooper, the ISB Agent asked you a question." The Lieutenant said curtly.

"Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"Granted."

"Sir, his actions were in my opinion, foolish. If we wanted to protect that junction we would have guarded all sides, not just the elevators connecting the two floors. And in hindsight, if we did that we would have been able to report the intruders in the main hanger before they got the AT-ST Online."

"But when I arrived at the top of the elevator, you and the rest of your squad were still holding position, despite Lieutenant Yamato's direct order to destroy the hijacked walker. Why did you not even move to engage?" The Snowtrooper Lieutenant said coldly.

"The Sergeant had ordered us to remain in position, actually demanding one of the raw members of the squad to hold position."

"That does not make sense," The Colonel said, making adjustments to his wrist-comm.

"We sent direct orders to him, ordering him to engage. He said his confirmation to us, but according to the testimony of this Trooper and our Lieutenant, he didn't only not go through with orders but actively disobeyed them."

"Then it seems that I have all I need." The ISB Agent said passively.

"Summon him here."

Within five minutes, the now former Sergeant had not only arrived but was escorted away by a squadron of Naval Guards with the ISB Agent at it's head.

Nitsu did not remember seeing that Sergeant again on the ship.

"As that man is no longer in command, all members are being promoted in order to fix the issue of Command. You are hereby promoted to Corporal, and are second to the new Sergeant eighty fifteen. Show me your data card so I may update your clearance." The Colonel said with an official air.

Nitsu complied, a light amount of joy shining under his mask.

The Superior Officer had only just registered the information on his datacard when the alarm sounded.

Not the winning, droning alarm summoning all troopers to battle stations.

This was the high pitched squealing of the contagion alarm.

"Filters on, troops!" The Colonel said, pressing a few keys on his chest plate, sealing his suit.

But it was too late.

Far, far, too late.

Nitsu would learn later that the Sergeant was a traitor, deliberately waiting for the troops to arrive and kill his men, before dropping the airborne virus into the air ducts. But as he was caught, he deemed that his death would be a worthy price for the lives of much of the ship.

Coughing, retching troopers were stumbling through the halls, Nitsu's yellow eyes fogging slightly as he stumbled on wobbly legs.

He heard the ship-wide comm activate, along with muffled coughing over the receiver before Yamtato's shaky voice carried throughout the ship.

"All troopers, make your way to level three -"

There was a pause with muffled coughing.

"To level three, the Medics are setting up treatment facilities in the gunnery bays," He broke off again, hacking harshly before severing connection.

The Pantoran joined the ambling horde of ill troopers, making their way either to the over-crowded Medical bay, or down to the massive amount of temporary cots and workstations the Medics had quickly assembled to respond to the outbreak.

Nitsu remembered only just making it to the doorway of the gunnery bay, when his boot struck the small metal divide and sent him to the ground and into darkness.

* * *

_Ooo whats gonna happen next I wonder?_  
_And on another note; no, I am not trying to make this character a marry sue and just have him go 'omg look at all the super high ranking people saying hes badass bla bla bla' no, while as the character Nitsu on my first few days on the server, I took part in the two sims mentioned, and did end up standing within hearing distance to see a DT LTCOL say "Nitsu is a little machine" just before I died, but being recommended nonetheless. Furthermore, I participated in a regimental sim of Chimera vs the snow, and was surprisingly called forward by the Commander and had a note made of my kill count. So all and all a pretty neat thing. And yes, I do remember that annoying move by that sergeant. And funny enough, I did not see much of him after that event. Wonder if ISB really did get hi- [this message has been redacted]._  
_See you all next time! -arh_


	6. Chapter 6: Meeting of the Commanders

_Here is the aftermath of the virus, woot woot._

* * *

_**~16 BBY, ISD Zephyr, Shadola Sector, Gand System, Imperial Dockyard~**_

"Corporal? You hear me?"

Nitsu gasped awake before suddenly coughing, immediately bringing up bitter phlegm from his throat.

The voice that awoke him was silent as he caught his breath, before he sat up and managed to catch a good look at his surroundings.

He was in the slightly over-crowded gunnery bay with nearly most of the troopers of the ship being tended to by the green armored troopers of the Medical Corps., their helmets filtering out contagion.

Nitsu looked to the helmeted Medical Officer who had revived him. He could not tell exactly who she was without his helmet, but if the Pauldron and specific patterns were any indicator she was certainly a high ranking Medical Officer.

He was in the first of the small zones set aside for patients, seemingly in descending order of severity; the end of the room simply had stacks of white sheets to drape over bodies.

"You are lucky Twelve Eleven, you're blood was more equipped to handle the violent effects of the virus. Your antibodies all but killed it when we got you in a bed. But, the virus seems to have reacted in… Another way."

She straightened and retrieved a small reflective metal disk.

"The virus had a strange reaction to your hair…" The Officer trailed off, handing Nitsu the reflective metal disk, which he used to appraise his appearance.

Every last hair on his head, had fallen off. Eyebrows, eyelashes, seemingly even his nose hairs had all fallen away, leaving him looking as smooth as a shaved Mynock.

"We examined your skin, the illness caused you to reject your own hair roots, and they were expelled. You were almost completely bald by the time we depressurized your suit and got you on oxygen." She said, gesturing to one of the new troopers they were just bringing in.

Commander Artan.

He had reacted horribly to the sickness. Clearly, it had been designed to ravage humans.

"Will he be alright?" Nitsu asked as they strapped an oxygen mask to his face and began to apply bacta to the large pustules forming on his forehead.

"Most of the troopers were alright after an hour of applied Bacta to their wounds. It looks like he was one of the first exposed to the disease. He is lucky to have survived as long as he did"

She looked over her shoulder to a series of healthy workers and Medical Privates carrying stretchers with white sheets draped over the bodies.

The singed white sleeve of the ISB Agent's uniform hung limply with his arm off of one of the stretchers.

"You need a final round of checkups before you are free to go, and -" She stopped, putting a finger to her helmet's comm system.

"Understood, Corporal. You are cleared to quarantine the area."

She turned back to Nitsu

"You should avoid the second floor, reports are coming in that the sickness is still rampant over there, especially on the traitor's corpse."

Nitsu nodded, standing up and testing his legs.

"Thank you, Mam." He said, saluting.

"Don't you worry about it soldier, we're just doing our job," She said, returning the salute.

"If any of your fellow troopers feel ill, send 'em here immediately. We want to kill this thing before the rotation is over."

* * *

_**~Snowtrooper Bunks, ISD Zephyr, Gand System, Shadola Sector~**_

Nitsu returned to the bunks in a clean, new body glove to replace his contaminated suit and had remained there for what felt like hours as his fellow troopers trickled in, all in fresh body-gloves in order for the old suits to be burned.

"Never knew you were a _Pantoran_, Nitsu," STS said, sitting down at the long table across from Nitsu in the main living area in the Snowtrooper Bunk.

"Knew from Gliese that you were non-human and all, but not Pantoran. How'd you get into the Empire anyhow?"

"It's… a _long_ story. Where is Gliese anyways? I hope he wasn't caught up in this virus." Nitsu said, a slight undertone of worry at the thought of losing his first friend and comrade on the ship.

"No, he got transferred to the ISD _Tempest_ and… reduced in rank, yesterday."

Nitsu frowned, reaching for the Sabacc Deck that was resting on the table.

"What happened?"

"Word got out that he bludgeoned a Shocktrooper with his RT-97c a few nights ago. He got into some trouble for that. But, it's no doubt a political move; the High Command has been wanting him out of their hair for a while. He has a tendency to…"

He smirked at the Alien.

"Well, you know… behave in _unorthodox_ ways."

Nitsu smirked slightly.

Yes, Gliese did have a way about rules and the rigid state of command.

Though he could not help but feel a gnawing and horrid sense of guilt in the pit of his stomach; he had done that for _him_, and had paid the price for it.

That didn't feel right.

"Though I understand it's only temporary. He should be brought back after a month or so."

Nitsu began to shuffle the cards, stopping when he noted a thirteen of cups was facing the wrong way.

"But you avoided my question; how does a Pantoran find his way into the Imperial Ranks?" STS asked again as he resumed his shuffling.

Nitsu smiled lightly.

"To make a very, very long story short; political reasoning, economic reasoning, and social reasoning. My people need to be admitted back into the Empire."

STS was silent a moment as he took his hand, reading it with only a partial amount of interest.

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" He asked nonchalantly.

Nitsu opened his mouth, but closed it again.

How exactly _could_ he bring the Empire's attention to his people?

The original plan had all but failed; as far as he knew, no more than three Pantorans had even graduated, with the other two being assigned mechanical duty and as a Mudtrooper in the Reconquest of the Rim. He was the only trooper in an actual, true position.

"I suppose I will need to get the ear of one of the members of the Command Staff, and convince them that looking into the area would be worth the cost," Nitsu said, passively discarding a card and drawing a new one.

But those members - while numerous - were not people you simply approached and chatted with, at least not in his experience. You were never left alone with one of the crisply uniformed Officers, the hawk-like eyes of the Officer's Chimaera guard would watch your every move, to the point of standing between you and the Officer if you were deemed too dangerous an individual.

At this point other members of the Regiment had trickled in, all limping or else gingerly walking on sore legs before collapsing in a bunk or on a lounge in front of the holoprojector.

A few sauntered up to the game Nitsu and STS were playing, casually watching both hands and making whispered wagers on the odds.

"I suppose I will just have to wait until I am able to speak with one of them directly." Nitsu said finally, skipping his turn.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck. But I should say, be careful what you wish for. The Empire is a wondrous group, and it helps many people. But despite everything, not every planet wishes to be subordinate to us. Make sure your people truly wish to be in the Empire, before you plan such a thing. You don't necessarily have to be a part of the Empire to benefit from the Imperial way of life."

STS revealed his cards; a value of twenty three.

A few whoops and shouts of victory from those winning minor wages went up around the pair.

Until Nitsu unveiled a negative twenty three; just one tier higher.

"I think I'll take your word on that one, Lieutenant." He said with a smile.

STS flashed his own grin to the Pantoran, nodding and shaking his head lightly at the cards.

* * *

_**~16 BBY, ISD**_ **Zephyr, _Shadola Sector, Gand System~_**

The kill count was not a promising number.

The Pirates themselves were hit the hardest; the explosive device that released the toxin had been detonated in the Brig, infecting and killing all but one Pirate, a dozen Shocktroopers, and several Naval Guards alongside the tragic death of the ISB Agent.

From there it spread through the air systems, spilling down the halls into the first floor and spread upwards into the third floor and the bridge via the ventilation.

All of the Regimental High Command of the Snowtrooper Regiment survived, but a few of the worst cases were the minor officers attempting to heroically bring ill Troopers to the medical bay and medical center in the gunnery bay, over exerting themselves in the process.

As for the Command Staff., only a single Ensign perished due to the virus.

However, among those killed was Nitsu's own new Sergeant, resulting in his temporary promotion to the rank until another with the appropriate skills was found and assigned.

The recovery process was proceeding well, with nearly all the ship scrubbed clean and the virus fully exterminated.

Then the Stormtroopers discovered a man dead in the Engine Room who succumbed to the illness, and it went viral again.

Nitsu was wearing his new suit of armor - making sure to not put too much wear into it, as he was likely not to be a true Sergeant any time soon - when he received summons to meet Snowtrooper Major Thirteen Twenty One at the same junction where he had stood with the traitorous trooper.

"Ah, Nitsu! There you are." He said once Nitsu turned the corner.

"The Commanders of each Regiment have been summoned to the bridge with the Command Staff to come up with a plan to wipe out the remaining Pirates. Commander Artan is still too weak to leave the Medical Bay, so I will be representing the Snowtroopers in this meeting. You will be representing the Stormtroopers -"

Nitsu's eyes widened in shock.

"Sir, with all due respect, I am not at all qualified to participate in such a meeting! Are there none in the Stormtrooper Regiment who can -"

"No, Sergeant Twelve Eleven, there isn't. The only Officer not infected is an overworked Lieutenant, who you will brief the meeting details once it is over. Now come with me, or we will be late."

"But -"

"This rotation, Twelve Eleven."

Nitsu had never been in the bridge before. To start, the elevators to it clearly had an ominous air about them, with occasionally a Naval Guardsman standing with their long barreled blaster on safety yet always looking steely eyed and fierce to anyone who breathed wrong in their direction.

The elevator only led to one floor, which was buzzing with activity. Officers and troopers and Commanders of all colors and Regiments were trying to get in line, showing their datacard IDs to the single exhausted black uniformed Naval Guard who guarded the small narrow archway into the Bridge Proper.

"Identification and reason for entry?" He asked the two Snowtroopers when they finally approached.

"SNOW DSSO Major Thirteen Twenty One. Here to Represent the Snowtroopers at the Regimental Command Meeting; Twelve Eleven is here with me representing the Stormtroopers.

The Guard nodded, glancing at both of their IDs in turn.

"Go on up, third floor. A guardsmen will take you to the conference room."

The pair nodded and moved past the Guard, entering the smaller, private elevator within the bridge's neck.

"I wonder what we will do with these Pirates." Thirteen Twenty One said as he pressed the button to third floor.

"Hopefully, we will get to destroy them for the damage they have caused, Thirteen Twenty One -"

"Come now, Nitsu! Have you forgotten already? First thing I told you when you stepped in that simulation room; Call me Big one. Or wide one, or thick man or thick-boy, whatever works. Just don't give me a damn number" The old Clone said darkly.

"I-I'm sorry, T_hickboy_," Nitsu corrected.

Clearly the Clone preferred a name - any name - other than a number.

The elevator hissed open, and the two Snowtroopers stepped out into a small room with a grand set of doors.

The Senior Warrant Officer Guardsman watching the the room stepped forward, her weapon on safety.

"You the representatives?" She asked, her voice sounding somewhat familiar to Nitsu.

"Yes, Mars, Snowtroopers and Stormtroopers."

"Good, the others will be waiting for you." She said, before turning to look at Nitsu.

"Ah, good to see you up and moving again, trooper." She said, giving a small salute as Nitsu remembered where he had heard her; she was the Medical Officer that had awoken him from his virus induced sleep.

The two doors hissed open, and Nitsu only just suppressed his gasp.

This was no minor meeting in some cubby tucked away in the neck of the bridge; this meeting was taking place on the Command Deck; he could see the navigators plotting courses, communication officers going over information with one ear sticking out of headsets, Ensigns and Lieutenants and…

He stopped dead in his tracks, somewhat startled.

Two figures were speaking on the Command Deck, figures dressed in white. Nitsu at first assumed they were just members of ISB. But when one turned her torso to face the door, he could see her rank plaque had more colored squares than he had fingers.

Whatever they were, those were not your normal Admirals.

But the male…

He didn't get enough of a chance to get a good look at the figures again, as he was subtly encouraged by a sharp jab in the ribs by his Major to keep walking to the conference room.

Around the long, black table like polished obsidian, Commanders and Colonels and Majors of the various Regiments were laid out like a great conference of colors.

A Scout Trooper with armor accented with bright red slashes was Identified in Nitsu's hood as the Commander of the Scouts, while at his side stood a green marked Colonel. Beside them stood the Deathtrooper Colonel he remembered from his time in the Simulation, and next to him sat both a Shocktrooper major and a Shocktrooper Lieutenant.

The fruit-leather colored Officers of the 996th were not present, but the tan colored Shoretroopers were, who nodded upon the Snowtrooper's entrance.

Then there were those not a part of any Regiment in attendance.

There were the Chimaera guarding the doors, neither speaking or moving in their vigil. And where there was Chimaera there was Command Staff; a Fleet Major sat at the head of the table, while the holograms of two other Officers hovered beside him.

The Major removed his hooded helmet, and Nitsu followed suit; better for all the members of the meeting to see one another's faces. He received a few double glances for his blue skin and yellow tattoos, but thankfully, he saw no sign of outright scorn.

But what was more intimidating than the Chimaera and room full of superior officers, was the final guest who entered just as the Major attempted to call the meeting to order.

The sleekly armored and cloaked Inquisitor.

And everything jumped to eleven.

Commanders would meet to figure out minor details and how to better use their troops in battle. That was the norm.

Inquisitors, did not take part in such planning.

Meaning…

Meaning that there was more to these Pirates than Nitsu had ever thought of.

The Major cleared his throat, before continuing.

"Alright, let's get this meeting started. Please State your name to the record after me and going from my right. Major Senpai, proceeding over this meeting."

The names went though, Nitsu stumbling over his words as he stated his rank as Sergeant; after all, what do you say when you were the armor of a rank you don't officially hold?

Major Senpai continued.

"As you all know, the Pirate attack crippled our troops, and led to us having to return to the planet Gand. Our interrogators however, gave us a boon of information."

He pressed a key on his side of the table, and a hologram of a planet appeared in the center of the table.

"This is the planet Florrum. It is predominantly desert and sulfur fields; nothing of any true value other than as a factory-world or as a junk-world. However, Pirates have occupied it since the Clone War, aiding the Old Republic against the Separatists on multiple occasions. It now seems that whatever group of brigands rules the planet has seen fit to declare war upon the Empire. Our prisoner has shed some light on their fleet," He continued, pressing another key.

The hologram of the planet vanished, replaced with an image of a _Munificent-_class freighter.

"He claims that their leader happened upon a derelict fleet of dormant Seperatist ships. Regardless of how the leader of this gang retrieved them, they are weak on their own but are formidable in a group, as the Imperial Navy has learned the hard way."

He looked to the hologram to his left, and the human stood up; his rank plaque identifying him as a Vice Admiral.

"The Imperial Star Destroyer _Warmonger_ was baited into a trap by their fleet, causing it to be lost with all hands upon the planet. The wreckage has, according to your prisoner, been made into a fortress."

"Officers Star and Reznov will lead a fleet and engage the Pirate Fleet directly. It will be up to the _Zephyr_ and the _Tempest_ to gut their stronghold while the fleet is away." A voice from the doorway said.

Nitsu turned, looking to see the source of the voice.

The two white uniformed figures had entered, the woman at the head of the pair.

She was dressed in an Imperial tunic, however there were small, unique accents to it that Nitsu had never seen in his admittedly short time in the Empire. Golden shoulder epaulets lightly crowned the space between shoulder and neck, while four identification sticks stuck out from their respective pockets just under the shoulder. But the rank plaque was what Nitsu noticed. As large as the hologram of the Admirals if not larger, and with specific colors added.

Nitsu knew there was a small amount of meaning behind the colors; red for command of the Imperial Army, blue for command of the Imperial Navy, and yellow for command of Imperial Civilian Resources.

Whatever this rank was, she commanded all three with peerless authority.

"Grand Admiral Jam, Grand Admiral Thrawn," The Major said, moving to stand.

"At ease, gentlemen. I was merely showing my colleague about our bridge."

"Honored," the second Grand Admiral said, closing his eyes and bowing his head slightly.

Nitsu could not keep his eyes off of him.

When Nitsu had first seen the one they called _Thrawn_ as he entered the bridge, he had been stopped dead in his tracks. If he was the most successful of _his_ people to ascend in Imperial ranks, than whatever species _this_ being was, was clearly doing something better.

At first, he had mistaken the Grand Admiral for a member of his own people, the Pantorans.

But he saw clearly now that the creature before him was no Pantoran.

His face bore not a single tattoo, not a single yellow dot to mark his family heritage or devotion to the Goddesses. His hair was too dark a color, even from the most navy blue of Pantoran shades.

And those cold, soulless eyes. Eyes that at first made it seem as if he were bleeding, until you saw the light red glow that contrasted so much with Nitsu's own yellow.

But this figure had a strange feeling about him; a cold reptilian calculating manor, that made him all the more different.

At least _Nitsu_ knew how to behave like an organic.

His studying of the Grand Admiral had not gone unnoticed, and the yellow pupils met the near solid red eyes of the strange, twisted thing that stood before him.

"I see you, as well as I, have begun employing beings outside of the Human Species. I commend you for your open-mindedness, Grand Admiral Jam."

The Grand Admiral looked puzzled, until she saw Nitsu.

At first, she was startled, but her vision then morphed to confusion, anger, annoyance, and finally reluctant acceptance in a single moment; she had no doubt seen his armor, and managed to deduce he had worked his way to the position - even if it was merely to hold the role for another more worthy Trooper.

Regardless, it was clear that she was _not _one to cross.

"Continue with your meeting, I need to speak to the Grand Admiral of the _Tempest_. Thrawn, shall we?" She said, gesturing towards the exit.

With the equivalents of Naval celebrities leaving the room, the meeting returned to the topic of Piracy.

"They are incredibly well armed and, according to our source, have a large amount of refurbished Battle-droids serving them as foot soldiers. I don't doubt that under normal circumstances we would be able to crush a holdout like this from afar, or with the might of our ground forces. However, there is an added complication. Second Brother?"

He nodded to the Inquisitor, who spoke in a hissing rasp.

"_They are led by a traitor of the Inquisitorial; a fallen fool who dares to challenge the might of the Emperor_."

That certainly brought the stakes up.

"As such, we will need to be very careful about our planning. No doubt they will use the Destroyer's shield generators to protect themselves, so we will have to get dirty and fight them on the ground. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to proceed.

None raised their hand, all seemingly pondering the question, or in the case of one immature representative, they were not even paying attention.

Nitsu raised his hand to speak.

The Major's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Certainly, Sergeant. What do you suggest?"

Nitsu stood, clearing his throat before noticing that now all eyes were on him.

Great.

"First, sir, I have a minor question: do we know the most basic layout of the stronghold. Does it have a main entrance, does it have fortifications, and the like."

The Major pressed a key and an image of the downed ship appeared.

"They have forced an opening out the starboard side of the Hanger bay Cavity, which our prisoner informed us was for the better movement of ships and cargo, while they have set up minor defenses along the ship's spine, but with no other real dedication to manning the perimeter."

Nitsu nodded, gesturing to the model.

"I suggest we send the majority of our heavy forces to the front lines of the ship's main entrance with seemingly overwhelming force to draw out the pirates and hold their attention. While, our lighter forces - the Chimaera, Deathroopers, Scouts, and others - make an incision on the Port side of the Star Destroyer, infiltrating their flank. From there, they can cause havoc or even manage to kill the fallen Inquisitor, cutting the head off the snake."

The room was silent, all looking to Nitsu with surprise.

The Major pointed to Nitsu and looked to the Major.

"How is this trooper not a Lieutenant already? Put him on your list, Major!" He said to Thiccboy.

Nitsu gave a small smile as he sat back down.

Three rest of the meeting was devoted to ironing out details on _his_ plan. _His_ plan! Talks on whether or not to devote Walkers to the frontal assault, or to perhaps have TIE Fighters attack the bridge and spinal defenses as additional diversions were the majority of the conversation.

The Plans were ironed out - The Stormtroopers would take part in the frontal assault alongside the heavier troops - and all representatives dismissed and escorted out by the Naval Guards.

But Nitsu could not stop smiling.

He had met the upper echelons of the Command Staff, and made a plan thorough enough to impress them.

Goddess of the Winter, keep him stoic.

The plans themselves ended up not being used and merely filed away under potential tactics; the Pirates had gambled all on a raid on the Imperial Factory world of Ganthel, and was destroyed by the combined forces of the Garrison Fleet and the Attack Fleet, killing the leader and leaving the horde floundering, waiting to be cleaned up by the Four Hundred Fifth Imperial Task Force that eventually wandered into the system.

So, in the long run, minor capital. But in the short term, his name was known on Officers and among the outer edges of the Command Staff.

And as such, the Major felt that having Nitsu simply keep a seat warm was out of the question; He was promoted to Sergeant in good standing.

* * *

_So yes, as with before, some of this is true. I was summoned with a few other Snowtroopers in order to represent the officers of Regiments not on the game at the time, and was there as a Sergeant of some variety, representing the Stormtroopers. I offered an idea to the Officer leading the meeting, who spun a fun story about a future battle he was planning to have players take part in; one that involved Pirates, a fallen inquisitor, and a downed star destroyer. When he asked for suggestions on planning, I was the first to request permission to speak, and detailed the false front plan that I wrote above. And his line was exactly the same as written; How is he not a Lieutenant. A proud moment of mine, to be sure._  
_Anyways, I hope to see you all again soon; I will be taking a short break from writing these with any true amount of urgency / regularity as the midterms are approaching, and I will have to dedicate my time to homework._


	7. Chapter 7: A Familiar Face

Aight its been a hot minute, but as I said finals and stuff were a B, and school is still, ya know, a priority. But yea here's a new chapter for ya!

* * *

_**~16BBY, Arkanis Sector, Andooweel System, Imperial Star Destroyer Zephyr, Snowtrooper Bunks~**_

Nitsu laughed heartily with his squad, as Captain STS strutted about in his new uniform.

But it was not his newly accented black and white Snowtrooper uniform; but the tar black uniform of his new job on the ship; one of the Naval Guard

"When I'm not commanding you guys, I will be upstairs making sure that _you boys_ aren't going places where you aren't supposed to!" He said in mock sternness, his hands balled into fists and planted squarely on his hips in a stance of both mock sternness and real pride.

Nitsu could not help but feel incredibly proud - not to mention a little bit jealous - for his superior and friend. Many had been urging him to join the sharp minded and constantly vigilant warriors of the Naval Guard, but he had always stoically shrugged off such recommendations; he could never abandon his squad or his platoon.

The promotion to Captain clearly changed that; and he found the time to not only take part in the incredibly difficult and arduous training to wear the uniform - with many a trooper failing - but to thrive in his new environment.

His harsh barking tone and harsh sense of authority fit him perfectly in his secondary role.

He would continue to lead them of course, but would often change out of his Snowtrooper uniform into his Naval job in order to clock in time on patrol.

STS checked his comm and started slightly.

"My time is up; I need to get back to the bridge. Have fun hosting your sim, Nitsu!" He said, activating his comm and alerting his superiors he was on his way.

"Alright troopers, lets get on the wall." Nitsu said, waiting with his hands folded behind his back while they obeyed.

It was satisfying, seeing them leap to answer his orders.

As an Isik in the Pantoran Defense Fleet, he had a small amount of authority on behalf of the captain. A salute there, the ordering of specific soldiers for specific tasks.

But as a Master Sergeant…

He had _authority_. He spoke an order either harshly or kindly and troopers moved to obey. Not as fast or as sharply as if an Officer called the order, he had noticed, but it was most certainly something Nitsu was not complaining about.

"Alright troopers, we'll be heading over to the simulation room. Double column on me, weapons out and on safety."

Forming into twin lines in ranking order with Nitsu at the head, the troopers processed down on their way.

First, they were to patrol the ship and salute many of the functionaries and guards for their service. Filling up the creaking service elevator near to burst, the party first made its way to the Brig.

"Company, halt!" Nitsu barked, the rhythmic trod of their heavy boots on the metal floor stopping immediately.

"Company, left face!"

There was a slight squeak of their boots as all turned.

The two Brig guards - Privates, if their lack of ornaments and trappings were any clue - looked nervously to the group of heavily armed troops lined up in front of them. One shot a worried look to their officer, a Lieutenant Nitsu knew by the name of Ton-ishoy, standing in the command console in the center of the Brig.

"Company, salute Brig, and the guards within!" Nitsu called.

All of the Snowtroopers saluted in near unison - they were front-line troopers after all, not parade performers - and received a salute in return.  
"Thank you, Snow," The Lieutenant said with the shadow of a smile on his unmasked face.

"Company, left face! Forward march!"

The final stop before their destination was the bridge. But Nitsu knew better than to try to order the squadron into the bridge's smaller elevators, and saluting the Naval Guards stationed up there.

To say that it would go poorly, would be an understatement.

So, he resolved to simply order his troops to salute the guard stationed in the hallway, who received the salute with a slight smile and matching movement; his boots clicking and the hard rim of his hat making a light thud.

Then, to the simulation room.

"Alright troopers, get on the wall. I will call over -"

He was cut off by the groaning call of the ship's claxon.

"_Troopers! Our engines are shot, all troops repel boarders!_" A panicked voice called over the comms.

Nitsu's brow furrowed, turning back to his men.

"Sim's over early, all of you double time to the engine room!"

This was not the first time the ship had been under attack - be it pirates, strange monsters from deep space, or insurgents. And without fail, they eventually - either due to deserters or accessing the computers - they went to the key positions of the ship and began to wreak havoc on the metal monster.

One of those key arteries was, obviously, the massive room containing the engine turbine.

While he was fresh in his new command, he had been led by STS and his command to the area he now took his men to; the upper portion of the engine room, with only two entrances.

The first was a large, heavy blast door connecting the giant turbine to the third floor, and a service elevator connected to the lower engine room.

It was there that Lord Vader had, seemingly so long ago, dismembered the rebellious officer and restored order to his contingent of the 501st. It was a place that very little damage could be done; mainly connections of coolant and fuel tanks, as well as monitoring equipment for the hyperdrive and sublight engines. Very little damage that could be done long-term. However, if they seized the service elevator they ascend to the actual turbine, and could deactivate or even destroy the engine, forcing the ship to be dead in space with only emergency power from an overtaxed auxiliary motor.

Or worse, be without power and adrift with no shields in space.

STS had his troops catch the entire boarding party in that elevator trying to go up; gunning down seven before the rest finally surrendered and were put out an airlock.

And today _Nitsu_ would defend this key point.

"Troops, I want three of you to remain up here, maintain this room; no one up or down, in or out unless they have a uniform. The rest of you, with me to guard the lower level."

When they entered the cluttered, titanic lower engine room, they noted it was unnervingly quiet save for a strange, unusual buzzing.

The engine gave off a consistent hum, almost like a whirring noise as it spun. This sounded like sparks sputtering, or the constant hissing of…

Of a welding torch.

Nitsu gestured for his men to spread out, heading to a console and pressing a few keys to monitor the fuel status -

"Sir! The door is sealed; someone is cutting through! They don't sound Imperial!"

Nitsu whirled to see a Lance Corporal looking over while pointing to the closed door, slightly obscured by a sharp hallway.

Nitsu jogged over to where the trooper was pointing, Rt97c held at the ready.

Just in time to see the solid blade of blue energy to turn the general arch into a half circle.

Nitsu could feel his trooper's eyes on him, and he had to admit, it was daunting.

He had commanded in simulations. He had been in a position of sub-command under more decorated, more experienced officers. This was his first true command in combat.

"Ta… take defensive positions and train blasters on the door… Advanced firing line formation!"

He knelt down to one knee and raised the blaster to his cheek, training it on the circle that was now two thirds finished.

But it was not the prospect of combat that brought sweat to his brow. It was the blade that was cutting through.

That, was a lightsaber.

He knew of the weapon; he had seen the crimson blades of inquisitors and of Lord Vader in the past. And he knew enough about them to know that their blades were always consistent. They might deviate in style, handle, and size, but never in color.

This was a Jedi. Or at least, a Jedi pretender.

By the time the circle was four fifths of the way finished, the blade suddenly curved outward and cut through the door, vanishing to the other side with a buzzing hum.

Blasterfire sounded from the thin, molten hole left in the metal, including the harsh sputtering of two lightsabers striking one another.

He raised a hand, order his troopers to remain steady.

But it was unnecessary. Their stance was no longer needed.

"_All troops, report to debriefing._"

* * *

"It seems that a Rebel cell managed to manufacture an accident, causing us to collide with an asteroid and boarded us in the chaos. Their traitorous leader has been…"

The Lieutenant's eyes flicked momentarily to the sleekly armored inquisitor standing beside him, the brightly accented gold and silver lightsaber of the Jedi standing out against his black suit.

"...dealt with. We have managed to capture a few of them, and they are to be executed once they have been processed."

He then gestured for the Rebels to be moved off the lower area, chained together with electronic binders.

The Debrief then continued, with minor questions on greater details, and recommendations for promotion.

Nitsu was not listening.

The last rebel in the chain gang, moving off at the lead of a sternly faced ISB Officer caught his eye.

Nitsu strained to look at the man, until he passed directly by him.

There was no mistaking it.

Debrief finished, with the Snowtroopers being summoned for a debrief at their bunks.

Nitsu begrudgingly attended; nodding and applauding the promotion of that Lance Corporal to the rank of Corporal.

Once he was dismissed, he took off at a run.

The bridge was nearly deserted, save for three naval guards.

"STS, I need to speak with you immediately!"

STS, who was stepping aside and allowing another Naval Guard to take his post at defending the bridge, frowned.

"What's goin' on, Nitsu?"

"I have _crucial_ information for the ISB about those rebels!"

His eyes widened, before they slightly narrowed.

"Alright. He's with me." STS said, showing his ID card to the Naval Guard now standing guard in the bridge checkpoint.

* * *

Nitsu stood nervously at the very edge of the naval bunks, the great hallway of lockers and side rooms looking longer and more ominous the longer he waited.

STS was standing at the very end of the hallway, standing patiently at the area where even he was not permitted to enter.

The interrogation room of the Imperial Security Bureau.

Even at this distance, Nitsu could hear the screams and light mechanical whine of some instrument.

STS then seemed to step back, and a white uniformed ISB Agent exited, drying his hands on a towel and motioning for Nitsu to enter.

"So," the ISB agent said, sitting down at a desk and motioning for Nitsu and STS to do the same.

"What is it you have for me?"

STS gestured to Nitsu.

"This trooper is one of my subordinates in the Snowtroopers. He claims to know some information one where one of the rebels might be located."

They both looked to Nitsu expectantly.

He coughed slightly, before removing his hood.

"I knew exactly what he was the moment I saw him, sir. I know the man's home-moon, I know where compatriots of his might be located, and I know if there might be more of his kind out there."

"All that from a glance?" The ISB Agent said with a bemused smile.

"Yes, sir." Nitsu said sternly.

"He is Pantoran."

The Agent raised an eyebrow.

"One of your people has joined the rebellion?"

"And if one has joined, that may mean that there is a faction on the planet who is aiding known Rebels."

He was quiet for a moment.

"He did make mention of his home-world before he stopped speaking; I will follow this up with an investigation. You may go."

Nitsu stood up and prepared to leave.

"Oh, Sergeant?" the ISB Agent called.

Nitsu turned to face him.

"Yes, sir?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped as a scream from the interrogation room cut him off.

"When you get the chance, I will require a list of all you that you can give me on Pantora and its people. As I believe…"

He checked his datapad, before nodding grimly.

"Our other source on the region has just expired. That will be all."

Nitsu nodded and made to leave, putting his hood back on as he did so.

As he left, he passed by a white uniformed ISB Agent of junior rank dragging the corpse of the Pantoran to the trash chute at the end of the hallway

"Need a hand?" Nitsu offered.

The Agent nodded weakly as Nitsu took the other arm, heaving the body as it fell awkwardly and morbidly down the dark shaft.

And Nitsu left quickly to write down what he had seen.

In little more than thirty steps, he had seen almost all of the dead Pantoran's face and tattoos, and knew exactly who he was and what he did.

Pantoran. A variant clan of Choi, a disgraced Noble family in the polar region. Warriors, hot headed and proud. As expected he had the two year marks on his lower jaw, in addition to the unique family crests of two jagged diagonal lines that went from the forehead to the cheekbones over the dead man's eyelids.

Yet there was more.

Under his right cheek, was a simple curved mark.

The curved mark of diplomatic service.

So, he was a Pantoran Male. A member of a disgraced military family, with a clear history of brief military service. Lack of continuous bars showed that he either was unfit for duty or - more likely - was unable to submit to orders. An angry young man, who served one term - or partial term with distinction - in the diplomatic arts, evidenced by the curved tattoo of diplomacy.

Nitsu knew that the Appeasement Party were not allies of the Choi clan; Chairman Baron Papanoida was a rival of the late Earl Cho, and had succeeded him as Chairman after his death in the One Day War.

Such ostracism had Driven his clan to the Republicans. To those that oppose the Empire.

Nitsu lifted his hand from the datapad, reading and rereading what he had writen.

This was an opportunity he could not afford to pass up.

There would be death. There would be bloodshed. But Pantora would return to the Empire. Even if it required the Empire seizing the Moon by force with the albeit limited aid of the Appeasement faction.

It would be worth civil war to bring his people into the Empire.

He submitted his report, then send a message in Imperial code to his father; both so his superiors as well as his father and his allies could read it.

It was short, and to the point.

Prepare yourself. Aid is coming.

* * *

woooooooooOOOooo Spooky stuff happening! And yea there will be a wee bit more in a bit, but again, homework comes first. See ya'll later, and I hope you enjoy! And yes, to those asking, I am aware of typos and stray ***asterisks*** that are out there. As well as the odd Lork instead of Lord. I will fix that but again, I got stuff to do. Till then, I hope to see you guys on Zephyr! If you aren't on there already its a Gmod Server where all of these stories are acted out without (too)much exageration.  
On another note; there are some things that I cannot rationalize that happen on this server. So, there will be chapter titles called like "Chapter X (Silly): The Spooky Scary Skeletons" so, make sure you check the titles and be aware of that haha. Till then, hope you enjoy! I have gone back and changed minor things such as wee lore corrections that happened. cya! -Nitsu / ARH


	8. Chapter 8: A Killer Within

Wow, been a minute and a half, huh? Yeah, school's been a thing. Anyways, I am wrapping this story up, been working on a few chapters and just getting it all out here and now. There will be like, five more chapters in a row and this bad boy will be finished, along with Nitsu's story. Enjoy! - ARH

* * *

_**~16 BBY, Suolriep sector, Saleucami system, ISD Zephyr, Upper Command Deck~**_

* * *

Sergeant Major Nitsu was troubled as he paced in front of the main door to the command deck, the grey uniformed Naval Guard in contrast looking calm and collected, straight backed with his weapon remaining on safety as he watched the Pantoran nervously wait.

Finally, the admiral stepped from the command deck, arms folded and head held high as he approached the pair. They both crisply saluted, only easing at the Officer's nod.

"You wished to speak with me, Sergeant?"  
Nitsu coughed slightly before stepping forward, hands clasped behind his back.

"Sir, I have information that could prove useful to you."

* * *

"Did you have a productive meeting, Sergeant?" The Naval Guard asked as he exited the bridge checkpoint.

"Not precisely," Nitsu replied, shaking my head.

_'Not worth the resources_' he had been told by the admiral, after hearing Nitsu's suggestions and listening to the Pantoran's prepared speech on the benefits of investigating the Pantoran system.

The Pantoran had been told as much by STS when he asked him how the ISB had taken the possibility, but he hadn't thought that it would be as bad as an outright rejection of the idea.

He stepped into the small elevator connecting the bridge checkpoint with the rest of the ship and descended, feeling not a little bit dejected.

What was he to do? What would he tell his father? His people were counting on him.

He swallowed hard as he remembered the burden on his shoulders. All of Pantora was not well. The Slaver Campaign was going poorly, and the entire sector was in conflict. His people were starving.

And here he was, on a ship powerful enough to defeat every single warship in the region, with nothing he could do to help.

His throat began to feel dry, causing him to subconsciously reach to rub it gingerly.

A cold glass of water would help with that.

Nitsu had taken a step forward when he heard his name shouted behind him.

"How're you doing yah bastard?" Gliese called, either not noticing or caring that he was right by the medical bay.

"Gliese! Great to see you!" Nitsu said, catching his hand in a strong handshake and a clap on the shoulder.

"How've you been? I haven't seen you since you were transferred to Tempest."

Gliese laughed slightly at that, lifting up his hood.

"Yeah, hit the shock trooper hard enough to break something, and got into a bit of an argument with the Commander. But one thing is for sure, at least I know where the line is drawn now."

Nitsu took hold of his friend's pauldrons and looked at him with a frown on under his armor.

"Yeah, yeah, clearly I wasn't just _transferred_. Lets hope I can work my way back up the totem pole, eh?" The Corporal said with a slightly dejected tone.

"But enough about me! I see you managed to climb your way up to Sergeant Major! Who'd you have to -"

"I earned the rank through a lot of SIMs and a good Officer's meeting after some kind of contagion wiped out half the Regimental High Command of the ship." I cut him off.

"Ah," He said, nodding.

"That'll do it. Hey, I don't mean to be rude but I am parched. Wanna head to the Cantina?"

Nitsu shrugged.

"Eh, I was feeling a bit thirsty. I could use a glass of water or two."

He turned the corner from the main hallway and entered the small Cantina, Gliese following close behind.

"I wasn't thinking water, maybe a cold bottle of -"

He stopped, eyes wide and directed to the counter. Nitsu was confused, until he followed his gaze to be greeted by a horrific sight.

The cook droid - a recycled Seperatist droid with a recipe book for a processor - had been shot four times in it's chassis, the remains long since sparked out and the carbon scoring was ice cold, according to his helmet.

But, doubled over on the counter was something that made his skin crawl more than a simple droid being shot at.

The dead Snowtrooper's hood had shifted slightly when he had fallen, with a puddle of dried blood on the counter and with clear signs of it spilling onto the floor.

Nitsu could only stare for a half of a second, before he raised a cautious hand to his connection to the shipwide comm.

A unique privilege, to advertise small text crawls as a Sergeant. Only to be used in dire emergencies, but his message was direct and to the point.

"Naval / ISB to Cantina immediately!"

* * *

A squadron of Naval and several members of ISB had cordoned off the Cantina in no time, with two ISB members examining the bodies while their superior - a Lieutenant by the name of Findabair, if Nitsu wasn't mistaken - asked him a series of questions.

"Did you know the Private in question, Sergeant?"

"No, Sir." Nitsu replied, his hood down and shaking his head.

"I knew _of_ him, he was a bit of a firebrand. Last I saw him, he was on probation and cleanup duty for disrespecting one of the Officers." Gliese added.

Findabair made a note on his datapad.

"Did you see anyone entering or leaving the Cantina before you came here? Any sign of anyone being here before you were?" He asked, eyebrows raised.

"We were standing just around the corner talking before we came here, Sir." Nitsu explained.

"And although I'm no detective, that blood looks like its been sitting there for a while," Gliese added, scratching at his jaw.

The ISB Lieutenant sighed and made another note.

"Thank you, gentlemen. One final thing; keep this… between yourselves. If you have any information that comes up, Bring it directly to ISB."

The pair of them saluted the Officer, before being dismissed with a nod.

But before they could leave, one of the junior ISB Members approached.

"Sir, we analyzed the wounds, simple slice through the breastplate with a single shot to the cranium, helmet integrity shows he was unmasked when he was shot. The scoring meets parameters of a standard E-11 and matches the readings on the droid, but the cut was very precise with no carbonization."

Nitsu took Gliese by the shoulder before they continued to eavesdrop on potentially private information.

You did not need to be a Rebel to be dragged into the ISB's private chambers.

"Well, it looks like we found something to occupy our time!" Gliese said enthusiastically as the pair slipped on their hoods and made their way back to the bunks.

"Gliese, we were only asked to give them information if we _hear_ about it. I don't think that meant going out and looking for trouble."

"C'mon, Nitsu. If we _stumble_ on the information intentionally or not, we can give it to them! Besides, the ISB has a reputation. As soon as the white suits come a-knocking, everyone shuts up and no one says a word other than 'yes sir, no sir, understood sir'. We can get a little bit done without causing too much of a fuss."

Nitsu shifted slightly.

"This feels more like the Black Union Squad's range of experience…"

"Those wannabe ISB Snowtroopers are just hitmen with a message of mark. And besides, he said we are to keep it to ourselves."

He lowered his voice as a pair of Shoretrooper Officers passed, wordlessly saluting them.

"But I know how much you need your place here. I'll do the heavy lifting. I just need someone to keep people talking while I go behind their back."

* * *

Nitsu was never one to judge a person's character based on outward appearance or on minor behavioral quirks. It was their actions that spoke volumes on who they were, and who they said they were.

Gliese had an accent suggesting the edge of the Expansion Region, perhaps the tentatively defined border between that and the Outer Rim. And his plan on finding information on who was the killer clearly showcased his past as a thief and pickpocket.

As he first struck up a conversation with a Staff Sergeant in the Shoretrooper bunks, distracting him away from his computer to showcase his heavy blaster rifle, he learned what would quickly become routine as they searched.

Distract, look for movement logs, and leave.

* * *

"The Jumptroopers had nothing. They were all in a sim, and the Shore were mostly milling about downstairs. No one had been near the cantina durring the murder." Nitsu said frustratedly, sitting at the main desk while Gliese fiddled with a datapad.

"It wasn't a Snowtrooper, was it?"

Nitsu shook his head.

"Most of snow was granted leave yesterday, there were only four snowtroopers on the entire ship when the murder happened. You and I were near the bridge, and the last one was downstairs getting his blaster fixed."

"I _told_ the commander to have the barrels reinforced! They break if you hit anything harder than a pillow!"

Nitsu fiddled a bit with the computer, chewing on his lip.

"The only group on that floor that would be close enough to the scene of the crime would be medbay. And they don't bother keeping location records since they are constantly moving around."

Gliese was quiet for a moment, then he snapped his fingers.

"But, they have records on who checks out equipment! And that trooper got shanked right?"

"Right…" Nitsu said, not sure he followed.

"And who on an Imperial Star Destroyer, would have something designed to cut through Imperial Armor?"

Nitsu's eyes lit up with understanding.

"The Medical Kits! They have surgical scalpels!"

"Exactly! We see who checked out a kit in that time period, or if any were recorded as missing. We should be able to find our culprit."

Nitsu nodded, but furrowed his brow.

"The Medics keep the Medbay locked up tight, though. You can't get back there without someone with you, even if I were distracting someone."

The Pantoran did not know it at the time, but Gliese flashed a smile that he would quickly begin to associate with a bad idea.

"Oh don't worry, I know how to get them to be occupied. Here, swallow this with some water and don't ask questions."

* * *

Nitsu's vision was blurry when he entered the Medical Bay on a stretcher, hood removed to make way for an oxygen mask and an anti-contagion bubble around his head.

That, or it was the bubble. He didn't remember.

"His eyes are dilating, he need bacta _now_!" One of the Majors shouted to a weasley private, their voices obscured by anti-contagion tubes attached to their helmets.

"Sir, we need to secure his legs before the convulsions start."

"Good work Lieutenant. I'll fetch the straps. Sergeant! Any luck reaching Commander Harp?"

"She's on her way. We're trying to analyze the source of -"

"His pulse is weakening, get him out of that armor now!"

His eyes widened with pain as the bright disk of light shone down on his face, as the shadows the filtered Medical Trooper Helmets looked down at him.

"Do we know if this shot is going to work? What if his blood's PH is different than ours?"

"Records say that it was close enough to accept the last shot we gave him, this one shouldn't cause any more damage than that one did."

"Secure his arm, we need to find the vein -"

"Attention, Commander on -"

"Get the defib in here now! His pulse is going bezerk!"

* * *

Nitsu awoke in one of the cots in Medbay, a Medical Sergeant standing by with a datapad monitoring the dozens of computers hooked up to Nitsu's arm and chest.

"Oh, thank the stars you're awake." the Trooper said, his mechanized voice clearly relieved.

"We analyzed the contagion to be some sort of mutant strain, probably dietary. Have you eaten anything out of the ordinary?"

"Nothing other than the Cantina chow," Nitsu lied, willing himself to take deep breaths so his heart rate wouldn't show.

The Sergeant nodded and made a note.

"Well, you are certainly lucky to be here in one piece. I will send word to the cooks to -"

"I'm afraid, you will not be doing anything."

The Medic whirled to see ISB Lieutenant Findabair flanked by two grey uniformed Naval Guards, one of which held a pair of magnetic binders. And just behind them, Nitsu could just make out Gliese, standing in the way of the door.

"Sergeant fifty five twenty, you checked out a medical kit earlier this afternoon. Kit twenty one, if I recall," The Lieutenant said, his hands clasped behind his back as he slowly approached the trooper.

"Yeah, and?" The trooper said, a clip of impatient arrogance making it through the helmet's vocabulator.

"It was reported damaged, and therefore discarded due to a simulation misfire damaging the contents. However, this medical pack," The Lieutenant held up a red satchel with his left hand, clearly marked with the medical emblem and a clear pair of numbers sewn onto the side; twenty one.

"This medical pack shows no sign of damage. The blade was harder to find, but it was found."

He lifted the vibro scalpel with his other hand.

"Not only that, but I took the liberty of having it scanned. It had red blood cells on the blade that matched those of the murdered Snowtrooper."

The Sergeant was silent, his head moving back and forth between the satchel, the blade, and the calm ISB agent.

But, the tension in him deflated, and he took a few steps forward with his shoulders slumped.

Just before he reached for his pistol sitting at his hip.

Nitsu could _smell_ the electricity of the two tazer shots as they arked through the air and sent the murder sprawling to the ground, as the Naval troopers surged forward to collect him.

"Take him to the ISB Interrogation Room. Captain Yamato would like to deal with him personally." Lieutenant Findabair said coldly, his eyes following the slumped form of the unconscious medic as he was dragged from the room. The door hissed shut behind them, only to open again as the Medical Commander stepped in - her armor more green than white - followed closely by Gliese.

"Your trooper here informed us of your sacrifice to ensure that this murderer was brought to justice. While I cannot say that I approved of your methods of deception, it is impossible to argue with the results." Findabair said with the ghost of a smile on his lips as he turned to face the Medic Commander.

"Harp, you said you found an antidote?"

"Yeah, we managed to cobble together a vaccine that should clean him right up. I don't even _want_ to know how you got your hands on so many mutated sickness all at once, but it sure did the trick."

Nitsu winced as the needle went in, and he definitely bit his tongue as the needle's plunger was pressed.

"You should be alright in the morning, but I recommend you stay the night here to gather your strength."

"And I will be having words with STS. You both deserve a promotion after this." Findabair said, gesturing with two fingers to the pair of Snowtroopers.

"Thank you, sir." Gliese said, giving a salute.

Nitsu attempted to mirror the action, saw the commander's look, and thought against moving with a needle inside him.

* * *

end o' that one, time for the next installment; Nar Shadaa. - ARH


	9. Chapter 9: Suspicions

_**~16 BBY, Hutt Space, Y'Toub System, Nar Shaddaa, Level Fifty Seven~**_

* * *

STS straightened his civilian clothes, ensuring that they were just the right mixture of disheveled, and the attempt at looking neat that people tried.

His ascension to the dark group of the ISB had been trying, even deadly, but rewarding. Authority beyond his dreams, the coveted white uniform, and unique tactics.

Tactics that were being put into use.  
He had spoken to his Director for assignment while the crew was on garrison duty over Nar Shaddaa, and his orders had been… peculiar.

And now he found himself shadowing someone when he could have been out drinking and gambling.

Granted, both of those activities had always been useful for keeping an eye on someone. An extra credit to have colored water instead of alcohol, and a few hundred credits given to him to gamble away while watching, and it was a good night.

Easier to see who was a traitor when you were the only sober one in the room.

But this was no bar, and certainly not listening in on officers.

He was shadowing a trooper.

One of ***his*** troopers.

The document made specific note of the Snowtrooper, in plain clothes, going into the seedier side of town.

That in itself was not enough to warrant a crime. He could have been doing anything from seeking discreet company or dealing with private affairs that he wished to keep quiet; perhaps an odd gambling debt he wanted to erase.

No, it was the issue that he seemed to travel to the more unfriendly part of town nearly every day, and walk out alive and healthy where most Imperials would at least earn a black eye from a spiced up gaggle of aliens.

STS watched the Pantoran again, following him with his eyes as he peered through his goggles.

He was dressed in some sort of smooth, purple garb, decorated with black swirls and symbols.

While they were no language or symbols that he knew of, he was unsure what they represented in the Pantoran language, if they were Pantoran at all. He pressed a small key on his goggles to take an image for later examination.

The suspect was clearly relaxed, his hands clasped behind his back and a very casual movement to his gait, clearly showing either familiarity with the location, or else a carefree attitude to his surroundings.

And such an unaware attitude was not safe in this part of the city.

On a parked landspeeder ahead, was a group of young men; STS counted three humans, a Twi-lek, and a Pantoran, all cackling while they drank the contents of a long necked bottle.

They seemed to quiet down as the Pantoran approached and began to move past them, before STS's target was stopped abruptly by the Twi-lek.

Shit.

He reached slowly for his heavy blaster at his hip, but let his hand hover above the weapon.

The orders were clear: only observe.

Now the entire group had taken an interest in his target, forming a loose semi-circle around him and blocking his path.

Now the Pantoran stepped forward - bottle in hand - and began to say something in what sounded like a local dialect of Huttese.

The target responded in a whisper that STS couldn't catch, but that seemingly caught the Pantoran off guard.

The pair continued speaking in hushed tones, with the target reaching into his coat and showing his countryman something small.

His first thought was credits, but the shine of a bronzium credit chip or even the glint of golden credit ingots would not cause the amount of surprise and astonishment that lit on all those that could see whatever it was the target showed them.

And to further STS's amazement, the group parted and let him pass before entering the landspeeder and jetting past him.

Leaving the way open to STS.

It was a bit of a maze, catching up to the target. However, bright clothes make one stick out on Nar Shaddaa.

And soon STS caught sight of him entering a small, discrete building, waving to someone inside as he entered the brightly lit room.

Clearly, he had been here before, enough to know where to find it and to recognize people inside.

Thankfully, even on the lower levels windows were commonplace.

And it was there, in the squalid, dirty streets of Nar Shaddaa, that STS saw what seemed to pull the target here, so many days of his leave. And that, was nothing at all to be worried about, as he made clear to his superior on the Air Taxi ride back to base.

"_But are you_ sure _that it wasn't a hostile group? You never know with these-_"

"Very certain, sir. I took images of the central idol and the iconography on the walls. They all match to a small religious sect on Pantora, worshiping something called the… dry-ton, I think it's pronounced. Very little power in their own circles and with no signs of hostile cult activity and no history of violent action. He was attending religious services, sir. Nothing to be concerned about."

But as he clicked off his comlink, he could not help but wander back to the hooligans and Nitsu. How did he manage to get past them, by showing them something so small?

What did he show them?

* * *

Nitsu inhaled deeply through his nose, letting it out again in a refreshing sigh.

While the filtered, sterile air of the Imperial Base and the Star Destroyer did have a tendency to grow on people, there was nothing that could kill the enjoyment he had of taking a deep breath of the air of the world he visited.

Be it the almost sickeningly sweet aroma of Felucia or the cold, dusty air of a Tatooine evening, it allowed you to step into the mind of the people that lived there.

Nar Shaddaa was no different.

The inviting smell of roasting meat, the odor of speeder exhaust, as well as the putrid stink of trash coming up from the lower levels and the hint of spice drifting down from the rooftops, not to mention the body odor of all the beings around him.

This was what it meant to be in a city. Chulal was painstakingly clean, and orderly. This was controlled chaos.

He took a turn from the main walkway down an alley that he knew led to the more or less hidden Shrine of The Dryghten.

As he moved forward, his hands clasped behind his civilian clothes, the smell of strong Twi-lek alcohol made his nose twitch unconsciously.

Ahead, a parked Air Speeder stood hovering just above the ground, blaring music in Huttese while a group of young men laughed, drank and sang along in broken tones.

He couldn't help but smile at the group, enjoying their evening. If he were in an Imperial Uniform, they would have no doubt stopped and watched him warily, and if another soldier was there in his place he knew they would have watched the group with suspicion.

The hand gruffly stopping him quickly brought him out of his thoughts as he turned to look the Twi-lek in the eye. The group of laughing, mirthful men had all stopped laughing, only the upbeat and cheery Huttese music and the empty bottle remaining as signs of their passive behavior.

"You're in the wrong town, warrior." A voice said, drawing Nitsu's gaze to the left.

A few centimeters shorter than he was, the Pantoran sized up the Imperial, looking him up and down with a challenging look about him.

His tattoos showed several spherical shapes along his cheekbones like drops of water, while his chin was marked with three vertical slashes with a horizontal slash connecting them. But on his forehead was a tattoo not at all like the others. It wasn't even Pantoran in origin, but a red tattoo of the Hutt Cartel insignia.

Artist of some sort, creative minded with a focus on visual works over spoken or written work, most likely painter or sculptor. Native to the equator region, but very much a young family and not one of the ancient noble houses of Pantora. Clearly, his career as an artist fell through and he joined the ranks of the Hutts.

And clearly, he had not forgotten about his past.

"Old military house, no military service outside government… what's a fellow wash-out doing out here, so nicely dressed and in a bad part of town?" the Pantoran asked with a wry trill to his voice, causing his friends to laugh.

"I am visiting the Shrine of -"

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that. Always going on about the _gods_!" He said mockingly, earning another bought of cackles.

"I wanna know why I should let you pass, eh? Surely you can make it worth my time…"

Nitsu's eyes narrowed.

"If you are looking for credits, I am afraid I don't have any."

The Pantoran scoffed.

"Yeah, and I'm a Rancor. Let's see your ID, maybe you are worth something"

Nitsu gritted his teeth slightly at that, but obliged, wishing his blaster wasn't under his civilian clothes.

The Pantoran started slightly when he read what Nitsu showed him, only able to open and close his mouth repeatedly as he struggled to find the words.

"_How_?" he managed, leaning in close and speaking in a whisper.

"Good fortune and tenacity. I hope to better the image of our people, one way or another." Nitsu replied, putting away his Imperial Identification.

"But First Lieutenant…"

He trailed off, seemingly unable to process the concept.

"You'd better get going, mass starts soon," the Pantoran said, motioning to his confused friends to move aside.

Turning back to Nitsu, the Pantoran frowned.

"I never caught your name?"

"Yil."

He nodded slowly in understanding.

"May victory be in your future. And promotion," he said with a slight smirk, slyly moving his hand to stroke his jawline; no doubt a playful joke at Nitsu's lack of status bars.

An issue he would seek to remedy.

* * *

The shrine was by no means built with the intention of worship in mind; the shrine itself was a two room apartment building, clearly modified with added tables and icons to the gods, with one single pillar of black marble to The Dryghten, creator of the universe.

"Sahl Pator." The Priest said, ending his sermon as the phrase was murmured by all attending the service.

Nitsu approached the Priest after the fact.

"Ah, Mr. Yil. Good to see you again. I have noticed you have attended my services almost every day, my child."

"Thank you, Sire. I try to attend whenever I am able."

"And you will always be welcome here, child. Especially for the good work you have done. I read the last draft of your essay you left with me."

"And?" Nitsu asked, excitement in his voice.

The Priest shook his head sadly.

"Child, the Empire is a system run by humans, for humans. A cursory glance at the government will show you this. I have seen two non-humans in the entire Imperial Executive Office, and those were holdovers from the Republic, old Mas Amedda and the Umbaran girl that worked with his Majesty. This essay would be met with very harsh criticism should you publish it. Unless you succeed, it will ruin you."

"And if I succeed, our people can be aided."

The Priest sighed slightly, shaking his ornamented head with the tinkling of his dangling piercings.

"Then I wish you the best of luck, my child. Your father sent a message here in reply to your last message, you are welcome to use my communicator if you would like to reply again."

"Thank you, Sire."

The messages from his father and his subsequent replies were now more or less commonplace. Lord Yil giving news of the fortunes and ills befalling Pantora, while asking how much longer until the Imperials enter the system to provide aid. And Nitsu would always reply in turn.

'The officers still need convincing, wait a little while longer'.

He stroked his eyelids gently as he keyed off the holoprojector.

How much longer until he could truly get the ear of an Officer, and convince them to go to Pantora?


	10. Chapter 10: Constant Warfare

_**~16 BBY, Anzat Sector, Vushin System, Vushin V, Vushin Imperial Base~**_

* * *

Nitsu pulled his hood up against the freezing terrain, the snow whipping around him and his platoon as he followed his Commander out of the frozen imperial base.

It was not Pantora. Yet. But some desolate ice-hole so unneeded and uncolonized that it simply bore the name of its star, with a number added on the end.

From the mission report, it seemed to be predominantly a mining colony, harvesting Zersium to produce Durasteel alloy. However, it looked like a half dozen silent alarms were tripped all over the planet and so, Zephyr had been sent in to clean up the mess.

"Fall back in line, trooper!" Nitsu called out to a corporal beginning to stray from his column.

The main mine was only a few kilometers away, but the path between the garrison base and the complex was a large gorge with several scouting outposts; the perfect place for an ambush. The Snowtroopers, with their experience with the cold, would secure the outposts and hold them in preparation for the main convoy of walkers and troops while the Scout troopers sped ahead down the main path of the gorge on their speeder bikes.

The tower was primitive, made of bricks and mortar with very little metal incorporated into the design; clearly an older structure refurbished for the usage of surveillance.

"Move, move!" The leading Lieutenant called, his platoon's blasters raised and set to kill as they cleared the first floor while Nitsu's troopers moved to the upper floors.

Monitors and surveillance equipment were set up on large metal tables, blinking and whirring with electronic garble.

The troops quickly secured the area, Nitsu ordering two of his sergeants to clear the third and final floor.

As Nitsu lowered his blaster and began to examine the monitors, he noticed something strange.

The computers were not very hot, if anything they were only slightly warm. While he would normally not question this due to the cold, he noted the very outdated design and lack of cooling units. These computers weren't activated too long ago.

"Thirty nine oh two, get an info dump from these computers."

"Yes, Sir!"

Nitsu moved aside as thirty nine oh two inserted the chip into the computer and began pressing keys, and noticed something equally odd.

A cup of steaming caff sitting near the edge of the table.

"Lieutenant! You're gonna want to see this!" He heard a trooper call from the stairs.

"What is it, Sergeant?" Nitsu said as Commander Artan broadcasted the all clear signal over general comms."

The upper layer was scarcely operated with computers, mostly empty blaster crates with a single data screen on a portable table.

A screen with a set of numbers, counting down.

"This seems to be some sort of countdown, sir. It was active when we got here.

Nitsu pushed the Sergeant aside to look at the monitor.

Fifteen seconds.

Breaking into a run, Nitsu got to the stairs and let out a shout.

"Everyone! Get clear of the tow-"

The explosion drowned him out, stone bricks slamming into his back as he sailed through the air and landed with a soft thump in the snow with a sharp ringing in his ears.

He lay there for a moment, before dragging himself up.

His hood had been ripped free in the explosion, and the Pantoran had fallen clear of the base by fifteen meters.

He pressed his wrist comm, speaking to his Platoon.

"Is anyone on this frequency? Is anyone out there?"

He received three affirmatives, and two grunts of pain.

"If you can move, start looking for survivors. Keep your frequency on so we can get you out."

As he moved towards the snow, he saw many troopers moving about, clearing rubble and pulling groaning troopers from the rubble.

Half of his Platoon was dead, two thirds of the other Platoon's men were killed in the blast.

As was the commander, his body impaled by a shard of metal.

[_Commander? Commander do you read? What's going on up there?_]

Nitsu picked up the comlink.

"Commander down, sector is not clear! The rebels have rigged explosives in the tower, proceed with caution, sir!"

[_Acknowledged, Trooper. Medics are en-route_.] the officer replied, before the signal cut out.

The Medics arrived to tend to the remaining wounded and with plenty of white sheets to cover the dead. Nitsu's Platoon then took position with the walker convoy towards the main mining complex, where a few blasts with the heavy cannons overpowered their fourth-rate shields and destroyed their landing craft.

And the insurgents who sought to syphon profit from the mines would now be labor for the mines.

* * *

_**~16 BBY, Raioballo Sector, Dantooine System, Dantooine, Equatorial Island Chain~**_

* * *

"Down!" A voice yelled as Nitsu ducked to avoid the mortar fire as shrapnel glanced off his shoulder armor.

He shouldn't have been there.

This planet was temperate and warm all over, with little more than grasslands and shallow seas covering the planet's surface. But when they received the call to attack the rebellious native government and the Rebel Base on one of the large equatorial islands, Zephyr was the first to respond.

If Nitsu was not mistaken, it seemed that there were more attacks being reported every day. More revolutions, more insurgencies.

It did not bode well.

He lifted his RT97C and let out a flurry of blasterfire over the lip of the earthworks, downing one of the camouflaged rebels before ducking as another shell landed, spitting up dirt into the air.

Nitsu peeked back out to fire again when the roar of Ion engines stopped him.

Four tie interceptors in honor-guard formation seemed to appear out of nowhere, with a lambda class shuttle between them.

The hostile mortar fire destroyed one of the fighters as the shuttle banked right to turn back.

"Where the hell did _that_ come from?" he heard a Shoretrooper bark, her back against the earthen wall.

"Probably some officer, got his coordinates wrong. Hopefully that Pilot knows-"

The rattling explosion cut him off, as the craft loomed downwards and fell down with a crunch.

Nitsu shook his head.

Pilot would have gotten out of there, if he were flying a tie.

Stupid terrorists and their killings. Pilots useful only for flying cargo were now being rushed into TIEs, while TIE Pilots were being rushed into VIP flights.

The Pantoran keyed on his comlink.

"Platoon Seven, this is Lieutenant Nitsu. Gather at trench three and prepare to storm."

After he received his acknowledgements, he keyed the comlink off.

"You can't be serious! If they survived the engine exploding, the crash would have killed anyone inside." The Shoretrooper said, standing up and firing her repeating blaster into the hordes of insurgents and alien revolutionaries.

"Better to get their bodies out then let the Rebels get the code cylinders!" Nitsu barked back, throwing a thermal detonator to the right of the downed shuttle, throwing dirt and two rebels into the air.

His troops filed in behind him, blasters off safety and set to fully automatic.

"Troopers, we are pushing to that downed shuttle. Loose Wedge Formation, and double time!"

With a yell, the troopers surged forward, red lines cutting swaths into the hostiles.

One of the natives - a green, freakish thing with too many eyes and chattering mandibles - leapt up from a shellhole in the ground, it's claws trying to pull back Nitsu's hood.

A blast from Gliese - a Sergeant again - put it down.

"Keep moving, Nitsu!" He shouted, putting down two more aliens and beating a third to death with the base of his rifle.

* * *

The troopers reached the shuttle mostly in one piece; three had fallen in the advance, four were wounded and crawling into shell holes.

"We will need to cut through, the emergency door is jammed." A private yelled, pulling out a small cutting instrument and beginning to burn through the white metal.

It was an efficient tool, cutting a generously large door in just over five minutes.

Five minutes spent constantly firing and repelling the insurgents and the aliens from surrounding the craft.

"There! Now we just - Wait! I think someone's alive in there!"

Nitsu turned in time to see the door kicked outward, narrowly evading the private.

He moved to the front of his troopers to see the commotion, reading to salute what was likely an irritated governor and inform them of the…

The crimson form of the Imperial Royal Guardsman stepped forward, looming and regal in his height and intimidating stare.

You did not need to see into his helmet to know they were looking at you.

A second Guardsman exited, slightly taller than the last, before the third figure emerged.

Small, cloaked in a simple yet fine cloak of black shimmersilk.

The Emperor.

"My Lord, you were right. He was a traitor. This is not the Christophsis summit."

"Clearly, Sergeant." His Majesty said, his voice old and cracking, yet with a clear sense of displeasure underlining his words.

"M-My Emperor!" Nitsu managed, falling to one knee with a hand on his chest, his blaster resting butt first in the grass.

He saw out of the corner of his eye the pale face turn to appraise him.

"Lieutenant. What is the situation here?"

Nitsu raised his head, and saw his Emperor's question was directed to him.

He stood, trying his best to not look him in his eyes - eyes not too unfamiliar to a Pantoran's, he noted - while keeping his face pointed directly to his face as to not convey disrespect.

"My Lord, the native government and an insurgent group are staging a revolution here. The trenchline is not far, but it is in deadly territory. We lost seven men getting here -"

"Do not doubt his Majesty's Guardsmen!" One of the Royal Guards said fiercely, his fists clenching around his force pike.

"I do not doubt you, sir," Nitsu said carefully, gesturing with two fingers to the enemy.

"But there are many enemy troops just beyond this ship. We can fight a rear-guard action and buy you time to escape, but -"

"That will have to suffice. My Lord, we must get you back behind Imperial lines." the second guardsman interrupted.

"I agree, Commander. Lieutenant, do as the Sergeant commands." The Emperor said, his yellow eyes meeting Nitsu's through the helmet.

Those eyes.

Those were not like a Pantoran's eyes.

A pantoran had eyes of soft yellow, like the leaves of a budding tropical flower.

Those were the eyes of a damaged soul.

What had the Emperor seen, no, ***survived*** to turn his eyes like that?

His men formed a semi-circle around the Emperor and his Royal Guards, firing constantly while walking backwards to keep the enemy at bay. Nitsu stumbled over one of the men from the march forward, dead and cold, while he saw Gliese take a shot to the chestplate before falling backwards into the trenchworks; a flesh wound only, thankfully.

And that, was the first - and last - time Nitsu met the Emperor of the Galactic Empire.


	11. Chapter 11: Nitsu's Proposal

**_~15 BBY, Tyan Sector, ISD Zephyr, Snowtrooper Bunks~_**

* * *

Captain Nitsu clapped as Gliese was honored and given his medal, for bravery on the planet Sullust. Captain Gliese would soon out-preform Nitsu at the rate he was now climbing; Major couldn't be too far away.

And if Nitsu was honest, he did not mind.

He was dressed in his Imperial Navy Guardsman uniform - the sharp, inky black standing out nicely against his blue skin and yellow tattoos, some of which were recent.

He felt a twinkling of pride every time he looked in the reflection; he had found the place, to earn his bars.

After completing a full year on the Star Destroyer, he felt as if he was truly serving his people. And so, when he next visited a Pantoran Shrine to the Goddess of Summer, he asked the priest to give him his tatoo.

A full year mark, a bar accented with a solid circle above it, while a second bar stood just beside it, showing the beginning of a new year of service.

With the ceremony now over and the Commander's speech finished, the troopers began to mill about and socialize before going over their duties.

He made sure to catch Gliese as he was having his hand shook by several of the superior officers of the Snow Trooper Regiment.

"Captain!" Nitsu said, giving a sharp salute with a slight smirk playing at the edge of his mouth.

While he was in a Naval Guardsman Uniform, he was the equivalent rank of a Sergeant. While he was equal rank in armor, in the tunic he was a subordinate.

Something he knew Gliese would make sure to emphasize - all with a manic smile on his face.

"Naval Guardsman! Your uniform is slightly dirty, I will speak to your Captain about this, and make sure you spend the rest of your days doing punishment exercises!" He barked, before the smile stole away on his face and he gave him a playful punch to the shoulder.

"We're neck and neck now, eh?" He said as the pair wandered towards the Cantina.

"Yep!" Nitsu confirmed, straightening his hat and ensuring his comlink was online.

"Though I'm not sure I'm going to go much further than this, if I'm honest."

Gliese frowned slightly as they entered the small cantina - the murder seeming to have only taken place a few days ago when it was nearly a year behind them.

"What makes you say that?"

Nitsu shrugged as he sat down at the bar, pressing a key to summon the mixing droid.

"It's just… I'm making a lot of noise trying to get the Empire to my home. They are waiting for the Empire, every day. And, well… I'm not sure the Empire wants them. Hell, I don't know if they even _need_ Pantora in the Empire. It's just a small region in a third-rate slave trade market. Not much value, not any resources that I know of. Just… planets and people."

"What about your essay you mentioned? The one about open recruitment towards aliens?" Gliese asked, sitting down to Nitsu's right.

Nitsu laughed as he addressed the droid.

"Pantoran Wine, second shelf."

[_Negative._]

"...Haedoral Brandy?"

[_Accepted._]

With a mechanical whirring, the droid turned it's lamp like eyes to Gliese.

"Corellian Schnapps, with tea as a base."

[_Accepted._]

Nitsu continued as the droid's many arms began to move and squirm in unnatural positions to craft their drinks.

"There's hardly three species in the Empire that aren't human, and only one of those is 'widespread'. The Umbarans are terrifying and good with the ISB -"

"You called?"

Nitsu and Gliese turned to see Naval Chief Warrant Officer STS stride into the Cantina, the white uniform of the ISB all but glinting in the light.

"Just mentioning the Umbarans." Gliese said, taking his drink from the mixing droid.

STS nodded, sitting beside Nitsu.

"Droid! Ithorian Everclear!" He shouted, before turning back to the pair.

"The Umbarans are good at reading emotions. Scary good. They make good fighters because of that, and most people think they are humans. But, why mention it?"

Nitsu shook his head.

"It's a dumb idea anyway."

"No it's not!" Gliese insisted, pointing to the Pantoran.

"Your essay makes good points. It will at least turn some heads among the governors. If you submit that, open recruitment might be opened to non-humans! And if that is done, your people could give it another try."

"Are you still trying to get your homeworld into the Empire, Nitsu?" STS asked as the droid served their drinks.

"Listen, take it from me. Some planets just aren't built for Imperial occupation. It clashes with who they are."

"Strong words from an ISB agent…" Gliese said cautiously.

"I didn't mean it like _that_, Gliese. Just, take an example."

He gestured to himself as he lifted his glass.

"I'm native born Mandalorian. When the Empire arrived they set up a loyalist government, occupied, and have been exporting resources throughout the Empire. Which is completely and utterly normal. But look at the reports! Clans in revolt, the old feudal system returning and causing endless conflict."

He took a sip of his drink and set it down, putting a hand on Nitsu's shoulder.

"All I am saying is you need to analyze the situation. You are thinking of all the ***good*** that would come out of Imperial intervention, or even Imperial Occupation, but you aren't thinking hard enough on what the cost would be. Don't strive so hard to bring the Empire to a planet that has little value - no offense intended - and cause suffering for your people."

"I don't know, STS," Gliese said, taking a mouthful of his cocktail.

"When the Republic became the Empire, Corellia had never seen more prosperity. Sure, the planet is dirty. But more wealth flows through the hands of ordinary people there than the poor on Dantooine, or Borrad."

"Ultimately, it is not up to me." Nitsu said, his hands lightly folded in front of him, his head dipped.

"It is the will of my father, and my People's sovereign to join the Empire. I must see it through."

The pair was silent for a moment, before STS raised his glass.

"To Pantora joining the fold."

"To Pantora joining the fold." Gliese and Nitsu echoed, toasting and all drinking for a moment in silence.

"Nitsu, if you wished, I could help you with the essay. Perhaps aid you in a recorded presentation; that is how most military propositions are forwarded to high command."

Nitsu chuckled slightly, shaking his head.

"I'd be honored for your help, STS. But they won't listen to me. I'm just a Captain in the Snowtrooper Regiment. There's no way they would listen to the proposal of a Captain."

"Then maybe they will listen to the proposal of a _Major_."

Nitsu looked up with a start, the rank insignia in STS's gloved hand.

* * *

"Alright, start from the top." STS said, waving away the droid's third attempt to refill his glass.

Nitsu exhaled - the taste of his finished drink on his tongue - and read from his datapad.

"What is the definition of an Empire? On a planetary scale, it is a simple and clear form of a government that rules over several distinct sovereign states, by conquest or by negotiation. Now, when expanded upwards into a galactic scale, an Empire is a clear sovereignty over more than just one state, but multiple planets with different cultures, languages, and species. Using this, is our Empire a Galactic Empire? Most certainly."

Gliese clapped from the floor while STS smiled and nodded.

"Good start, simple, factual statements. Should help lul people in. Keep going."

Nitsu cleared his throat and kept reading.

"However, why would the races of this Empire submit? Or more clearly, why would they continue to submit to the rule of the Empire? Well, there are several clear reasons, the first being profit. Any faction; be it tribal, national, planetary, system-wide, or sector-wide, will note a prosperity that was unknown to them before and their loyalty will remain with their new rulers, submitting to a loss of privileges necessary to the transition period."

Gliese let a whoop, spilling his fifth glass on the floor as STS shot him a dirty look.

"Good, well worded and again, answering a simple question. But I hope that this is the last of those, as any more might bore the officer reading"

"Yes, that makes sense. The next part goes over the Confederacy, and forgiving more humanoid -"

Nitsu stopped, as Gliese was sick on the mixing droid.

"We should get him to the bunks…" STS said, taking a shoulder of the ill Corellian as Nitsu took one of his arms.


	12. Chapter 12: An Untimely Death

The Penultimate Chapter of Nitsu: The Good Imperial. Enjoy!

* * *

Nitsu held up his ID card, the naval trooper taking it and looking at it with a critical eye.

"Reason for entry?"

"Changing into my uniform to join you." Nitsu said blandly.

The Naval Guard was silent a moment, before cracking a light smile.

"Hurry up, Warrant Officer! I need to take a leak."

* * *

Nitsu straightened his uniform's rank plaque on his way up to pull his collar up against his neck.

Warrant Officer Nitsu.

He was unsure if he truly deserved the rank, if he was perfectly honest with himself.

He had joined the Navy less than a year prior, joining the sixty sixth Naval Company on the ISD Zephyr, tasked predominantly with guarding and ensuring checkpoints were well manned.

And his climb in the Navy Troopers was almost… alarmingly fast.

Only a few standard months ago, he was a low classed soldier with a rank plaque so small he could have hidden it under his thumb.

And now? Now, he was an officer. Additionally, one of the specific officers of the LMU detachment, permitted to wear the Imperial Grey.

Moving towards the blaster locker, he holstered his DL-44 sidearm, while he hefted his DLT-19 heavy repeating blaster over his shoulder as he straightened his cap.

Time for guard duty.

"Officer on deck!" one of the Probationary Naval Guards called as Nitsu approached the bridge checkpoint.

"At ease!" Nitsu shouted before he even passed through the metal archway.

By the horned one, the new recruits could be stiff, even by Navy standards. Though, that was most likely the Imperial Army talking.

"Anything to report?" Nitsu asked as he stood alongside the other troopers.

"A few troopers coming up and asking to enter without proper clearance, but nothing too exciting, sir."

"Good. Maybe we will have a quiet shift, for once. Anything going on upstairs?"

The Navy Trooper shifted slightly.

"Well…"

He cut himself off with a sharp breath as the elevator droned down to our level and hissed open.

Out stepped a small crowd of people, all of which were clearly high ranked. Chimaera troopers stepped forth, silent and robotic, ensuring the area was clear. Following them were a small scattering of imperial officers; Majors and captains in green and brown uniforms, and an admiral in a crisp grey uniform not unlike the one Nitsu was wearing.

Such an occurrence was not uncommon. After all, Nitsu had attended meetings involving strategy and logistics before, and it seemed to be one of those meetings.

At least, it seemed so at first.

Behind the smattering of bodies, Nitsu glimpsed the tell tale crimson robes of the Imperial Guard, and the short, dark robed figure they defended as the group moved towards the checkpoint.

Nitsu stuttered slightly, fumbling over his words.

"M-Make way! Make way for his Majesty!" Nitsu quickly barked, stepping quickly aside and bowing deeply.

His Imperial Highness, as was expected, did not bat an eyelash as he made his way down the next set of elevators, no doubt to his ship.

Once his Majesty had left, and the admirals and officers either made their way down to see off the Emperor or returned to their duties, Nitsu turned back to his troopers.

"'Nothing too exciting'? The bloody Emperor was on the bridge! The least you could have told me was that!" Nitsu shouted to the navy trooper, who apologized quickly.

Nitsu shook his head slightly before returning to his post.

Some things never change.

He made a mental note to recommend that trooper go through a refresher on what was an important detail and what was not.

As he cleared an officer of the Shoretroopers to enter, the ship roacked as a wining alarm sounded throughout the ship.

Nitsu immediately opened his commlink and awaited to hear his orders from the Command Deck.

"All troopers, a group of assassins attempted to murder VIPs that were just on this ship. All troopers to the hangers to repell borders!" An officer he didn't recognize shouted over the intercom.

Nitsu immediately contacted his Naval Captain, hailing her on his holoprojector.

Captain Mars of the sixty sixth Naval Company materialized in minature in his palm, running in place.

"_Nitsu, get your men to the brig hallway, the intruders have already advanced past the trams!_"

"Understood, Captain!" Nitsu said before cutting communication.

"Lets move men, on the double!"

* * *

The brig hallway was worse off than before when the main elevator finally lowered down to the second level.

Fighting had broken out just short of the elbow of the corner, with a few holding out near the brig at the center of the hallway.

Nitsu, after scanning the people there, weighed his options.

Three shore troopers, five snow troopers, and two stormtroopers, plus his few Navy Troopers.

"Anyone with flashbangs, throw them at the enemy, we need to push forward and link up with the brig!" Nitsu shouted over the blasterfire.

Sadly, only Nitsu and one of the navies actually had flashbangs; the shoretroopers only had fire grenades.

And those were used to limited effect.

"New plan, rush them!" Nitsu called, drawing his pistol and bracing his rifle against his body.

And surprisingly, it worked. The troopers, by some blessing of the gods, got through to the brig and pushed them back down the hall to the tram, giving the Shocktrooper prison guards significant breathing room.

"Well done, Warrant Officer." One of the Shocktrooper Officers said, saluting as he approached.

"Almost as good as that one Snowtrooper."

Nitsu frowned, confused.

"Snowtrooper? One of them?" He asked, gesturing to the privates forming an advanced firing line at the hallway elbow.

"No, some captain with a nose for danger. Took on three of them before getting cornered. We dragged him in here when things started getting harry, but if you ask me, he's too far gone for the medics to help-"

Nitsu wasn't listening. He pushed past the Officer and was approaching the downed Captain of the Snowtroopers who had sacrificed himself for the Shocktroopers.

Please, by the will of the gods, let it not be…

Gliese lay propped up against his own hood, his chestplate nearly black from the carbon scoring, his face so pale someone might have mistaken him for an Alien.

Nitsu rushed forward, lifting up the chestpiece and looking at the damage, quickly replacing the armor.

It was as the Officer said. There was not much they could do.

With that much of his guts exposed, it would take a month in a bacta tank, and even then, that was if he survived long enough for the medics to take him there.

"Ni-Nitsu?" Gliese said, before coughing up blood on Nitsu's grey uniform.

"Nitsu, that you?" He finished, blinking slightly as he tried to focus.

"Yeah, it's me. What in the hell were you thinking?" Nitsu said softly at first, before barking in anger at the end.

Gliese chuckled slightly before devolving into another blood caked coughing fit.

"We both know these red skulls couldn't fight them off. Needed some heavier ammunition s' all. I taught them that," he said by way of explanation.

He cracked a weak smile, showing his now shattered and missing teeth, no doubt from the terrorist's hitting him with a rifle butt.

Gliese snickered again, raising a shaky finger to the Pantoran's face.

"Oh, wipe that doe eyed sorry crap off your face, Nitsu! Makes you look funny."

His hand lurched slightly before falling heavily to his chest, streaking something wet and warm down Nitsu's face.

"One thing's for sure, you won't have to keep watching my back now,"

Gliese's breath became quicker, heavier.

"You can now look out for your people, make sure they get what they need-"

He stopped, turning away from me and retching blood onto the metal floor.

"Nitsu," He said again, shakily and almost worried.

"We got 'em all right?"

As if the gods were listening, waiting, and honoring the Corellian's question, a notice rang off of Nitsu's comlink, affirming to the rest of the sixty sixth that the last of the terrorists had been killed or captured.

He smiled, nodding slightly.

"Guess that answers that!" He said with mock enthusiasm.

He reached his hand out again, grasping mine.

"Kick some ass for me, kay?" Gliese said in a loud whisper, before he let out a long breath and all tension in his body drained.

Nitsu reached up and took off his hat, and as he did so he thought he heard the sound of the Shocktroopers taking off their helmets too.

If he were alive, he would have laughed at that.

* * *

Nitsu arranged for a small funeral to be held. Not on Corellia, Nitsu knew that much about Gliese's past to know he was not emotionally tied to his world. He was tied to the Empire, to the regiment of the Snowtroopers.

He raised enough hell with his fellow officers, and risking a demotion, to have Gliese have the posthumous promotion to Major that he deserved.

And with the permission of his superiors in the Navy, he arranged a combustion funeral in one of the hangerbays, with him signaling the salute as his ashes drifted into space.

And drinking in the Cantina was that much quieter, that much less rowdy.

Once, he had jokingly said that there should just be a regiment of troopers that's whole purpose was to get drunk and fight in the cantina; Black-Eyes, he called them.

"To the Black-Eyes," Nitsu said to himself in the din of the Cantina.

[_What was that, Warrant Officer?_] The bar droid asked.

Nitsu sighed before slamming his glass down so hard it chipped.

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

* * *

I decided against doing the date and location in this chapter, as it will mostly be cleared up in the next chapter.


	13. Chapter 13: The Invasion of Pantora

_**~15BBY, ISD **_**Zephyr, _Snowtrooper Bunks~_**

Nitsu scratched his eyes as he edited his charts in his personal quarters.

It had been a long day.

No, that wasn't true, it had been a long bloody month!

He had learned.

He had learned the hard way that life was short, and that things needed to be done and they needed to be done _now_.

Damn his fellow Officers in the Snowtrooper Regiment, who felt that he was not contributing enough to the effort.

Damn the other Officers of the Navy and their board of directors, who saw him as shirking his duties.

He had his priorities in order. They just weren't aware of the circumstances he had.

His people, no, his _planet_, was starving and in desperate need of Imperial intervention. And what did the Republicans in the Assembly do? Debate on bills reorganizing the airway lanes, if his father was correct.

A noise chimed somewhere on his desk; a commlink?

He felt around, his eyes not leaving his datapad, until he found it and clicked it on.

"Major Nitsu." He said by way of greeting.

"_Major? The Commander wants to speak with you._" A clear voiced aid said.

"Very well, I will be right over." Nitsu said absentmindedly, clicking off the commlink.

Nitsu closed down the file he was constructing on Pantoran military ranks and straightened his uniform.

Time for another complaint from a higherup.

That is, that was what he was anticipating.

* * *

"The fact of the matter is, Major, that you are no longer committing yourself to this Regiment." The Commander said coldly.

Nitsu did not know his name - and if he was honest, he never bothered researching it - as he was only one in a long line of commanders replacing each other after they die doing something stupid on campaign.

"Like I said before commander, these reports are crucial, and need to be submitted for the approval of High Command-"

"It is therefore," He interrupted loudly.

"My regretful decision to declare you unfit for your command."

Nitsu was stunned.

How.

How was he supposed to help his people without him at least commanding a force when the interventionary attack came?

"Commander-"

"Furthermore, your lack of drive and clear ignorance of the severity of your negligence, show that you are unfit to remain in this regiment. You are now a Stormtrooper Private. Clear out your quarters, and get out of that armor immediately. I want you out of these barracks by after hours tonight."

* * *

Nitsu loaded another stun cartridge into his E-11 rifle, as he fired down the practice range, spitting with anger and nearly crying.

Major to lowly private. What a disgrace.

He took off his helmet, dragging his hands over the two year bars he had received when he was last at a Dryghten temple.

Two years of work, wasted.

He slammed his fist against the wall with a grunt, before folding his arms and resting his head against the wall.

What would he do?

No.

What _could_ he tell his people, his Chairman… his father.

All of his documents, saved to his personal datapad, were now nearly worthless.

No fleet officer would dream of listening to the ramblings of a lowly Stormtrooper private. His careful notations on Pantoran Assembly guard patterns, the rank structure of the army and navy, the battle plans, the appropriate landing zones and potential allies…

All of that was useless now.

He heard the muffled chime of his helmet's commlink.

He slipped on the helmet - pressing the activation code to open the HUD - and clicked on his comm.

"Ni - ST Twelve Eleven." He said, catching himself.

"_Nitsu? This is Captain Mar. Please make your way to the bridge, I need to speak with you_."

Nitsu's heart sank.

Not the Navy Trooper rank as well.

* * *

"... You surely understand where we are coming from, Warrant Officer?" The Captain said kindly, looking at him with an almost comforting wince of empathy.

"You have been digging so deep into your research and your reports, you have neglected your role in defending the ship. Therefore, I'm left with no choice but to remove you from our squad."

Nitsu nodded, his body going numb.

It was _all_ falling away.

"But, I am not going to leave you high and dry. I spoke with Snowtrooper Colonel STS, and we both agree with this nomination."

Nitsu's head snapped up.

"Nomination?"

"To the rank of Fleet Major." a voice said from behind.

Nitsu whirled at the new voice, and saw a crisp, grey uniformed admiral approach the pair of sitting troopers.

"I am Admiral Tine, operating directly under Grand Admiral Jam as her second in this ship. I have reviewed your proposition to Imperial High Command, and have heard of your requests to investigate your home moon of Pantora. You will be my second in command as we move in on the planet, with you advising us on all that we will need for a swift victory."

Nitsu could hardly believe it.

He had lost a credit and won a hundred thousand more.

Fleet major…

A squad of Chimaera guards, Regimental Commanders saluting him…

But most importantly, an open window to help his people.

"What do you say, Nitsu?" The Admiral asked, holding out his hand.

* * *

Fleet Major Nitsu stood on the command deck of the ISD Zephyr, advising Admiral Tine as he led a combined force from ISD Z_ephyr, Tempest, and Courage_.

All of this effort, all of this blood, sweat, and tears, finally coming to fruition as he spoke to the holographic figures of some of the most powerful men in the Imperial Navy, and they clung onto every word.

"The moon is predominantly in the sub-zero temperatures, with a more tolerable zone around the equator and the north and south tropics. Between the tropics and the arctic and antarctic circles, however, the terrain becomes more difficult to traverse with marshes and heavier snowstorms." Nitsu said, gesturing to a hologram of the moon.

"What is their military like? Will we be hard pressed to get on the ground?" Admiral Tine asked.

"Their military is using largely clone wars era weapons and technology, in addition to a small fleet of short ranged frigates. However, most of the military should cede to our side." Nitsu said, folding his hands behind his brown tunic.

"_Which leads up to my question,_" Captain Feark of the Tempest said, his arms crossed.

"_Do we have any allies?_"

"Yes, Captain." Nitsu said, pointing again to the equator.

"Pantora is currently divided between staunchly anti-imperial sentiment and pro-imperial sentiment. Most of the higher ranking military leaders are, to my understanding, loyal to us or at least able to be bought. Additionally, the ruling family will support our takeover. It is the Assembly and the Republicans that will form the strongest opposition, as well as the more isolated clans in the southern hemisphere of the moon."

"Where would a landing zone be appropriate?" Grand Admiral Jam asked, eyeing the hologram suspiciously.

"I know of a perfect place to act as our first landing zone. My home city of Chulal, near the Yil estate. Loyalists and military minded, they will certainly permit us to land and begin our occupation."

"Good. I am entrusting this campaign in the hands of Admiral Tine." She said, nodding to the admiral before briskly leaving the bridge, followed by the evaporating holograms of the other officers.

"I don't think she likes me very much, sir." Nitsu commented quietly to Admiral Tine.

"You are just overthinking it. She has far too much to worry about than your feelings. Now, remind me of the formation their army might use?"

* * *

Nitsu sat in the cockpit of the sentinel class drop-ship as it descended into Pantora's lower atmosphere near Chulal.

He had been reading and overlooking datapads, finalizing their plan of attack on the capital, when he heard the pilots begin to chuckle to one another.

"Looks like the TIEs got a bit eager, eh Major?" One said, gesturing to the viewport.

Nitsu stood, mouth agape.

Chulal, the city near his father's estate, was burning.

"Get me Admiral Tine." Nitsu demanded.

The holographic image of the Admiral appeared.

"Admiral, what happened at Chulal? It is half destroyed!"

"_Our TIEs noted hostiles firing with medium range cannons - some sort of primitive E-web - and requested a bombardment from Zephyr. I obliged._"

The Pantoran Officer was silent.

"_Now, ensure the area is secure for our walkers and other vehicles, and see if you can make contact with your father; I understand he should have organized a loyalist militia._"

Before Nitsu could continue, the Admiral cut communication.

And left Nitsu with more questions than answers.

How was the Admiral speaking to his father?

* * *

The craft landed in the expansive gardens of the Yil estate, the doors lowering and Stormtroopers spilling out into the grasses and low hedges like white flowers in bloom.

There to greet them, was Lord Yil himself, accompanied by what looked to be an entire regiment of soldiers standing behind him.

Nitsu approached, saluting him.

"Nitsu, my boy! It is wonderful to see you again!" Lord Yil said, embracing his son in a hug.

Nitsu returned it, smiling lightly.

"And I see you brought some help!" He said, pointing to the other sentinel craft and the small gozanti dropping AT-ST walkers down to scout the area.

"With more on the way. We will finally be able to bring our people the prosperity they deserve."

"I should hope so! Things have been dire here, my son. But, Admiral Tine assures me that this will be all over swiftly." Lord Yil said, walking slowly with Nitsu.

"How do you know Admiral Tine?" Major Nitsu asked, confused.

"A good question for a better time, Nitsu. Right now, we need to focus on the coming battle. Can you hail the good Admiral? There are additional details that need to be accounted for."

Nitsu took out his handheld holoprojector and activated it, summoning a small Admiral Tine to speak to them.

"_Ah, Lord Yil. Good to see you. What is the situation?_"

"The city of Chulal has been fully pacified, sir. My soldiers went out and rounded up the survivors, and imprisoned the militants in a makeshift camp. They are at your mercy. Additionally, the Capital has since kept a few defenses secret to our officers and agents, and they have established a heavy shield, too dense to penetrate with turbolasers or even with slow moving objects. It will no doubt become a siege."

"_I see. I will land with a convoy of walkers and approach from the north, a larger armored force will advance from the south west, while you and Major Nitsu will approach with mechanized infantry from the east. With continual fire, we will be able to overpower the shield._" The Admiral said, gesturing with each direction.

"If we are able to completely surround them, we may be able to force the Assembly to surrender. That will ensure the planet is taken in half the time, and win more people to our cause."

"_A sound idea, Major. I will consider it. In the meantime, prepare to move out. I am assigning Regimental Snowtrooper Commander STS to your authority, Major, in addition to the ISD Tempest scout division. Good hunting!_" The Admiral said, cutting communication.

Lord Yil moved to speak with his troops, but Nitsu stopped him.

"Father. What happened at Chulal?"

He felt his father deflate slightly, before he turned to look at the large plumes of smoke on the horizon.

"They attacked imperial craft. So they needed to be punished. A small price to pay for helping our people."

"Father, don't forget why the Empire is here, why _I'm_ here. All of this was to make our people's lives better. We cannot make things worse for them."

"This is civil war, Nitsu." he said savagely.

"Our people are going to get hurt either way. Better to kill a dozen Loyalists to kill a dozen Republicans, than let those Republicans go free."

Nitsu stood quiet a moment, unsure if he could believe his ears.

"This has changed you, father."

Lord Yil wheeled on Nitsu.

"And your time with the Empire has changed _you_. I am assigning you the rank of Sotek, the associated company will join your force under your direct command. Good hunting." He said, before speeding off to speak to one of his officers.

Nitsu sighed, almost tempted to go after his father, but he decided against it.

"Sergeant!" He said, getting the attention of his Chimaera guard leader.

"Signal that the area is secure, and they should begin landing immediately.

* * *

Nitsu looked out the viewport of the lumbering imperial troop transport as it navigated through the charred and blackened ruins of Chulal and out into the open tundra, where the glowing shield dome of the distant capital shone on the horizon.

And in the distance, he could see something already happening that he most certainly did not remember seeing in the battle plan.

Fighters were dogfighting old Clone War headhunters, while an ISD was pummeling the shield with turbolaser fire in a massive, eye watering bombardment.

What was going on?

He lurched forward, noticing the pilot was now picking up speed.

"Driver, what are you doing?"

"Orders from the Admiral, we are to move in quickly as the shield drops."

Nitsu blinked.

"Come _again_?"

The driver turned, no doubt confused but unable to show it under his helmet.

"The Admiral has ordered us to breach the city perimeter… We are to disembark troops and begin assaulting the city." The trooper elaborated.

Nitsu turned away from the viewport, taking out his holoprojector with a shuddering hand, and signaled the admiral.

Admiral Tine materialized in a shuddering ineture, armored and wearing a navy combat helmet.

"_What is it Major? We have nearly broken through the shield!_"

"Admiral, I thought that we were only using out attack as implied threat to force them to terms-"

"That was an idea, Major. But not my idea. We will be teaching these savages that the Empire is not so easily trifled with."

Shaking off the clear and xenophibic remark against his people, Nitsu pressed the issue.

"Sir, if we do this, we will isolate the few people who are on our side. We won over our allies with the promise that we would preserve their way of life and give them prosperity. This attack will drive those -"

"_I do not care if your primitive cousins fight with the Empire or against her. She is inevitable and invincible. If your clansmen fight against us, then we will destroy them as well._"

Nitsu's eyes narrowed.

"Lord Yil will deal significant damage against the Empire if he"

"_Lord Yil was the one who reached out to me, Major. He is the reason we are here. Did you not stop and wonder why I would promote a pathetic, dirty primitive to the rank of Major? I knew your name from my business dealings with your father. This invasion will bring a great deal of wealth to the Empire, and to me, coincidentally._" the Admiral said with a smirk.

"_Continue your assault, Major. Your troopers know their orders._" He said, cutting the transmission.

The ITT quickly slowed to a halt, the doors opening and the thundering sound of boots clamoring out seemed to make the vehicle vibrate.

The shield had collapsed.

"This can't be happening." Nitsu whispered to himself, quickly exiting the vehicle and looking for someone, anyone who could listen to him.

The Pantoran soldiers were already storming the capital, the last of them vanishing in the fresh rubble of the spired buildings.

But through the fog of war and all the troopers, Nitsu found a familiar face.

"STS!" Nitsu shouted, catching the Commanders arm.

"I need your help, please, order your men back in order to -"

The Commander wrenched his arm free from the Major's grasp.

"We have our orders, Major. Storm the city, kill the Assembly members, secure the capital."

He looked at Nitsu for what felt like a long time, his face hidden behind the hood.

"I _told_ you, Nitsu. The Empire blends nice on some worlds. On some worlds, _force_ is required."

And with that, the Snowtrooper Commander jogged off to join his troopers.

Nitsu could only follow at a slow trot, his Chimaera bodyguards following him as he entered the ruined edge of the city.

In the smoking, blackened building, where the stink of burnt flesh and melted bone still hung in the air, Nitsu leaned against the still warm metal table, gathering his thoughts.

He took out his holoprojector, and activated it.

"_Ah, son._" Lord Yil said warmly.

"I_'d been meaning to message you, I'm sorry about the outburst before, I was just _-"

"There was no famine, was there?" Nitsu interrupted, not looking at the image of his father.

He was just a hologram, but even then Nitsu could sense the unease coming from him.

"_I…_"

"There were no starving people. No horrid unrest. The people were fine, without the Empire. But you wanted us here, so you and the Admiral could own large plots of land from a newly captured planet."

Nitsu heard his Chimaera guards shift slightly, no doubt keeping a sharp eye for treasonous words.

But the fact that he heard their armor shift, meant his father was being deathly silent.

Nitsu slammed his fist on the holoprojector, the crystalline shards just piercing his black gloves.

"Sergeant." Nitsu said, not looking up.

"Sir?" The Chimaera said, approaching.

"Take your men and reinforce the attack."

The Sergeant shifted slightly.

"I'm sorry, sir. But my orders are to remain by your side-"

"Because I am a Major, in need of protection? Or because I am a dirty blueskin who needs to be watched?" Nitsu barked bitterly.

The Sergeant said nothing.

Standing slowly, Major Nitsu turned and advanced on the Sergeant.

"You are in command of one of the best squads in the Imperial military. Do not stand here, guarding a now useless planner and map-reader, while your skills are needed on the front. Go! That's what you want! Go! Go and slaughter my people!" Nitsu screamed, spittle flying from his mouth and dripping down the trooper's black lenses.

Wordlessly, the trooper motioned for his men to follow him, and the squad moved out.

And with the horrid luck that everything seemed to now have, the telltale fire of an old Clone Wars Headhunter - and the steaming, bloodstained helmet that came flying back from the direction they came - sealed their fate.

Nitsu walked past the charred, blacked bodies of his bodyguards he just unknowingly sent to their deaths, numb and in a daze.

All of the work, all of that planning, and for what? For the root of his entire service, his entire sacrifice, being based on a lie.

Did the others know? He knew he saw members of the Assembly Guard amongst the dead, so they obviously did not know about the lie. Did the Chairman come up with the plan? Or was it all his fathers?

A ringing, metallic blaster shot from a Papanoid Pantoran blaster sang over his head, causing Nitsu to snap awake and dive for cover.

Drawing his RK-3, he fired a few bind shots over his cover - a large shard of fallen wall - before changing a look at his quarry.

They both fired their weapons, and both hit their marks.

Nitsu hit closer to home than his opponent, but the searing hole through his side was nothing to smile at.

"Not a bad shot." Nitsu said in an equatorial tongue, and was surprised to find that the Pantoran was also an Equatorial.

Kicking aside the soldier's blaster, Nitsu clutched at his wound with one hand while keeping his blaser leveled at the other Pantorian.

Young, markings showing a military past not too unlike his own, with just shy of two year barks on his cheeks.

Nitsu winced with recognition as he looked at the wounded Pantoran's uniform.

"Isik first class. I was once an Isik." Nitsu said, sitting down a few meters away from the dying soldier.

"Why did you do this? Why have you invaded us?" The soldier said in broken basic, his breathing shallow.

Nitsu chuckled, leaning his head back to thump slightly against a scrap of wall.

"I have no idea."

He fired his blaster three times, ensuring the Pantoran had a quick death as he moved his hand away from his wound.

It had been only slightly cauterized by the blue ion shot, and blood was beginning to soak into his uniform.

A part of him instinctively worried about stains, and how it would look at a debriefing that was never going to come.

Dropping his pistol with a clatter on the stones, he looked out to the horizon, where many ships and hazy TIEs were fast approaching to land more walkers to the fight.

And beyond them, an amazing sunset.

Peach, and blue and purple all at once, with the slightest ridge of the pale planet of Orto Plutonia rearing out, ready to dominate the night sky.

Nitsu blinked, his vision feeling cloudy.

Maybe he was getting sleepy; he did skip caff that morning.

He decided to focus his eyes on a flight of TIEs, as they rapidly approached the city and flew past.

And once they flew past, he saw the convoy of walkers moving slowly and directly to the center of the city, no doubt to breach a hundred meters from his position - right where he had directed in his models.

He saw one of the walkers turn its massive head, and lower it's guns, no doubt the scanners picking up a Pantoran in the rubble.

Nitsu had been fingering the activation button on his commlink for a while now, picking at the rubber cap on one of the buttons.

All it would take is pressing that button, hailing the walker, and he could get medical attention. He could get off the planet. He could stop that walker from firing its guns.

Nitsu smiled, as he crushed the commlink to dust.

And closed his eyes as the heavy guns caused the building to collapse.

* * *

Heavy. And, that's it. Former Major if the ISD Zephyr's Snowtrooper Regiment - now Mudtrooper Regiment, former Senior Warrant Officer of the 66th Naval Company, and former Fleet Major and Staff of ISD Zephyr Gmod RP. I retired with a much more toned down version of this, where Major Nitsu perished. So ends the story of the Good Imperial that was Nitsu.  
Sorry this wasn't the happy-go-lucky people were hoping for in these times of COVID-19. But I had been planning this for a long time and had a brain spurt to get it finished and get a box ticked on my WIP chart. I will soon work on the Clone General and A Glass of Wine. But yea, this story is now finished.


End file.
